Clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts: Results from fourteen Eastern African countries.

Background: More than 100,000 cleft lip and palate patients have benefited from reconstructive surgeries in Africa because of surgical support from non-governmental organizations such as Smile Train. The Smile Train Express is the largest cleft-centered patient registry with over a million records o...

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Main Authors: Fitsum Kifle Belachew, Desta Galcha Gerbu, Ermiyas Belay Woldesenbet, Eleleta Surafel Abay, Salome Maswime, Mekonen Eshete
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-09-01
Series:Global Pediatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667009723000337
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author Fitsum Kifle Belachew
Desta Galcha Gerbu
Ermiyas Belay Woldesenbet
Eleleta Surafel Abay
Salome Maswime
Mekonen Eshete
author_facet Fitsum Kifle Belachew
Desta Galcha Gerbu
Ermiyas Belay Woldesenbet
Eleleta Surafel Abay
Salome Maswime
Mekonen Eshete
author_sort Fitsum Kifle Belachew
collection DOAJ
description Background: More than 100,000 cleft lip and palate patients have benefited from reconstructive surgeries in Africa because of surgical support from non-governmental organizations such as Smile Train. The Smile Train Express is the largest cleft-centered patient registry with over a million records of clinical records, globally. In this study, we reviewed data from the Eastern African patient registry to analyze and understand the clinical profiles of cleft lip and palate patients operated at Smile Train partner hospitals in East Africa. Method: A cross-sectional study design was undertaken through a retrospective database review in fourteen Eastern African countries. The study population included all patients who had cleft lip and palate surgeries recorded in the Smile Train database between 2001 and 2019. Findings: 86,683 patient records from 14 Eastern African countries were included in this study. The mean age was (8.8), the mean weight was 22.3 kg and 20.8 kg for males and females, respectively, and 61.9% of the surgeries were performed on male patients. Left cleft lip and palate (21,062, 24.62%) and left cleft lip only (17,155, 20.05%) were the most common types of clefts, with bilateral cleft lip only (3958, 4.63%) being the least frequent. complete left cleft lip with complete left alveolus was the most frequent cleft combination observed (n = 21,746) and Cleft lip to cleft lip and palate to cleft palate ratio (CL:CLP: CP) was 4.73:7.1:1. Unilateral primary lip-nose repairs were the most common surgeries (66%). General anesthesia was used for 74,783 (86.2%) of the procedures. Interpretation: Most children with cleft lip and/or palate were underweight, possibly due to malnutrition or related to socioeconomic status. There were more male patients compared to females, which could be related to gender disparities. Access to surgical care for children born with congenital defects needs to be improved, and inequities need to be addressed via more evidence-based collaborative intervention strategies. Funding: None
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spelling doaj.art-68e0682f9e5149f98431515652829b512023-09-21T04:38:16ZengElsevierGlobal Pediatrics2667-00972023-09-015100067Clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts: Results from fourteen Eastern African countries.Fitsum Kifle Belachew0Desta Galcha Gerbu1Ermiyas Belay Woldesenbet2Eleleta Surafel Abay3Salome Maswime4Mekonen Eshete5Network for Perioperative and Critical Care, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Global Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Correspondence: Fitsum Kifle, Global Surgery Division, University of Cape Town, South Africa.Network for Perioperative and Critical Care, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Surgery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, EthiopiaNetwork for Perioperative and Critical Care, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wolkite University, Wolkite, EthiopiaNetwork for Perioperative and Critical Care, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; University of Edinburgh, School of Public Health, Edinburgh, Scotland, United KingdomGlobal Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South AfricaAddis Ababa University College of Health Sciences School of medicine, Surgical Department, Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Plastic and Reconstructive surgery department, EthiopiaBackground: More than 100,000 cleft lip and palate patients have benefited from reconstructive surgeries in Africa because of surgical support from non-governmental organizations such as Smile Train. The Smile Train Express is the largest cleft-centered patient registry with over a million records of clinical records, globally. In this study, we reviewed data from the Eastern African patient registry to analyze and understand the clinical profiles of cleft lip and palate patients operated at Smile Train partner hospitals in East Africa. Method: A cross-sectional study design was undertaken through a retrospective database review in fourteen Eastern African countries. The study population included all patients who had cleft lip and palate surgeries recorded in the Smile Train database between 2001 and 2019. Findings: 86,683 patient records from 14 Eastern African countries were included in this study. The mean age was (8.8), the mean weight was 22.3 kg and 20.8 kg for males and females, respectively, and 61.9% of the surgeries were performed on male patients. Left cleft lip and palate (21,062, 24.62%) and left cleft lip only (17,155, 20.05%) were the most common types of clefts, with bilateral cleft lip only (3958, 4.63%) being the least frequent. complete left cleft lip with complete left alveolus was the most frequent cleft combination observed (n = 21,746) and Cleft lip to cleft lip and palate to cleft palate ratio (CL:CLP: CP) was 4.73:7.1:1. Unilateral primary lip-nose repairs were the most common surgeries (66%). General anesthesia was used for 74,783 (86.2%) of the procedures. Interpretation: Most children with cleft lip and/or palate were underweight, possibly due to malnutrition or related to socioeconomic status. There were more male patients compared to females, which could be related to gender disparities. Access to surgical care for children born with congenital defects needs to be improved, and inequities need to be addressed via more evidence-based collaborative intervention strategies. Funding: Nonehttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667009723000337PediatricsCleftSurgeryOrofacialEast Africa
spellingShingle Fitsum Kifle Belachew
Desta Galcha Gerbu
Ermiyas Belay Woldesenbet
Eleleta Surafel Abay
Salome Maswime
Mekonen Eshete
Clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts: Results from fourteen Eastern African countries.
Global Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Cleft
Surgery
Orofacial
East Africa
title Clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts: Results from fourteen Eastern African countries.
title_full Clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts: Results from fourteen Eastern African countries.
title_fullStr Clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts: Results from fourteen Eastern African countries.
title_full_unstemmed Clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts: Results from fourteen Eastern African countries.
title_short Clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts: Results from fourteen Eastern African countries.
title_sort clinical profiles of individuals with orofacial clefts results from fourteen eastern african countries
topic Pediatrics
Cleft
Surgery
Orofacial
East Africa
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667009723000337
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