Pattern of Congenital Overt and Occult Pediatric Surgical Anomalies in a Tertiary Care Centre Over 5 Years

Abstract

ongenital anomalies are important cause of infant and childhood deaths, chronic illness and disability. The proportion of deaths and disability due to congenital anomalies has increased, as deaths due to other diseases have decreased over the years due to better health care. Hence it is essential to have basic epidemiological information of these anomalies. This is a hospital based, cross-sectional, record based study, conducted in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Govt. Medical College Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Sample size included 300 children below the age of 12years admitted in the department of pediatric surgery with various major congenital anomalies, over a period of 5 years. More than half of these children were admitted after infancy for treatment, male children were more compared to females. Majority of these children were from low socioeconomic group. Only in 5.6% cases there was a history of consanguineous marriage. In 7.33% there was family history of congenital anomalies. In 32% cases the anomalies were detected in the antenatal period. Most of the anomalies were isolated anomalies. Genitourinary system was the most common system to be involved followed by, gastrointestinal tract. 91.67% children underwent surgical treatment, and only 10.67% children had major complications in postoperative period. This study shows that congenital anomalies are a major cause of hospital admissions in children of all ages. Pattern of anomalies seen in various centers are different. Knowledge of the pattern of congenital anomalies may be useful in planning health services. Keywords: Congenital, Anomalies, Pediatric surgery.