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MAJOR CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS AMONG SAUDI INFANTS ADMITTED TO ASIR CENTRAL HOSPITAL
Asindi A. Asindi, FRCP; Ibrahim Al Hifzi, MRCP; Wagih A. Bassuni, MD While infections and malnutrition are the dominant causes of infant morbidity and mortality in the poorer countries of the world,1 in the developed countries these causes are cancer, accidents and congenital malformations.2,3 In Saudi Arabia, a rich and fast-developing nation with a very effective expanded program on immunization, childhood malnutrition has virtually been eradicated and infection is fast disappearing; and therefore, congenital malformations, accidents and cancer will rank as the major childhood health problems.
Surveys on congenital malformations have been carried out in Riyadh4 and Al-Qassim,5 which are cities in the central area of Saudi Arabia. In these studies, the prevalence of congenital malformations was found to be high, with a male preponderance, and etiologically related to heredity. To our knowledge, a similar study has not been conducted among infants in the Southwestern area; there may be regional variations in the pattern of congenital anomalies. It therefore becomes desirable to study the pattern of congenital malformations (CM) in the Asir Region, which is in the Southwestern area of Saudi Arabia. In this paper, we have attempted to analyze the pattern of CM seen in the neonatal intensive care unit of Asir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia, during a four-year period. For genetic and racial homogeneity, the study was confined to infants of Saudi nationality.
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