Prevalence and epidemiological description of clubfoot at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objectives: Clubfoot is a burden affecting 150,000 newborns worldwide every year. This study looked at the prevalence of clubfoot at King Saud Medical City (KSMC) and examined the risk factors associated with clubfoot in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Data were collected through the medical system (Medisys) and the database of the orthopedic department intern at KSMC to determine the prevalence of clubfoot using the births recorded from 2015 to 2019 and reviewing their medical files. The epidemiological description of Saudi clubfoot patients was attained by collecting a sample of 100 patients from the clubfoot clinic database. Results: A total of 18,515 births at KSMC from 2015 to 2019 were evaluated. It was found that 42 patients were affected by clubfoot resulting in a birth prevalence of 2.3/1000 (0.23%) among Saudis at KSMC. Out of 100 clubfoot patients, 93% had no maternal history of chronic disease, while 31% of the cases were a product of consanguineous marriages. About 15% of the patients had an associated developmental dysplasia of the hip. Conclusion: This study estimates the prevalence of clubfoot in one major medical center in Saudi Arabia to be 2.3/1000. The findings support the data reported in the literature that males are more affected by clubfoot than females, with twice the likelihood that males will be affected by clubfoot. This study will provide an initial look at clubfoot in Saudi Arabia, which can build a base for future studies.