Syed Shahid Bokhari, Muhammad Asif Qureshi.
Incidence and Trends of Neural Tube Defects in Babies Delivered at Dera Ghazi Khan Tertiary Care Center.
Pak J Neuro Surg Jan ;24(4):399-404.

Objective:  A cross-section study was conducted to determine the incidence and trends of neural tube defects in babies delivered at a tertiary care center. And those babies who were delivered elsewhere and were brought to a tertiary care center for treatment. Material and Methods:  The Study was conducted at neurosurgery and pediatric surgery departments, Ghazi Khan Medical College and Teaching Hospital. Two thousand (n = 2000) women delivered their babies at a tertiary care hospital were enrolled, out of them 52 women who delivered babies with neural tube defects (NTDs) were further assessed. Women were interviewed and history of folic acid intake, previous baby with NTDs and family history were recorded. Tests of significance were applied to assess the significant results. Results:  Folic acid intake was occurred in n = 298 (14.9%) subjects. Association of folic acid on neural tube defects. Odds ratio showed that if a baby without intake of folic acid had 7.8 times at risk to suffer from a neural tube defect. The association was also significant (p = 0.000). Conclusion:  Neural tube defects are common in tertiary care centers its incidence was 2%. Increased incidence of NTDs was observed in babies who delivered by folic acid deficit mothers. Early childhood marriages in rural areas and cousin marriages are the main contributing factors. Keywords:  Neural tube defect, Anencephaly, Spina bifida, Hydrocephalus, Meningocele.

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