Prevalence and pattern of congenital clubfoot among less than 5-year-old children in Ethiopia; cross-sectional based study

Abstract

BackgroundClubfoot is one of the most common congenital malformations, but it is also one of the most neglected public health problems among less than five-year-old children, mainly in middle- and low-income countries. Approximately 80% of clubfoot cases are found in low- and middle-income countries. In this study setting, no epidemiological studies have been conducted to assess clubfoot deformity. Due to this gap, the study aimed to assess prevalence, and pattern of congenital club foot among less than 5-year-old children.Materials and methodsAn institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out at Black Lion Specialized Hospital at the pediatric orthopedic clinic. The sample size was 261 to determine the prevalence and pattern of congenital clubfoot. Terms like frequency, percentage, and mean were used for data presentation.ResultA total of 36,303 pediatric patients visited Black Lion Specialized Hospital during the study period, and clubfoot prevalence was 7.2 per 1000. The largest subclassification of congenital clubfoot was idiopathic clubfoot, which accounted for 6.2 per 1000, whereas syndromic clubfoot was 0.3 per 1000, and neuropathic clubfoot was shared at 0.36 per 1000. Most of the cases in this study were bilateral clubfoot, with males having more dominance.ConclusionIn the area under investigation, a significant prevalence of congenital clubfoot was observed, especially among male children. The majority of cases were bilateral, with idiopathic clubfoot being the dominant form.