Prevalence of congenital malformations at the “les Orangers” maternity and reproductive health Hospital of Rabat: descriptive study of 470 anomalies

BACKGROUND: Congenital malformations are described in about 3% of live births and 20% of stillbirths in the industrialized countries. The prevalence of congenital anomalies in developing countries, including Morocco, is not well known at the national level. The aim of our study is to conduct a descriptive exploratory analysis of congenital malformations cases diagnosed at the “Les Orangers” Maternity and Reproductive Health Hospital in Rabat. METHODS: We collected all the cases of congenital malformations diagnosed at the “Les Orangers” Maternity and Reproductive Health Hospital in Rabat, from January 1st, 2011 to June 31st, 2016. Data were reported on pre-established sheets and on a registry of malformations. Total and specific prevalences were calculated for each malformation. A principal component analysis (PCA) was then conducted followed by a Varimax rotation in order to identify the different associations of malformations in our series. RESULTS: We registred 245 cases of congenital malformations out of a total of 43,923 recorded births; a prevalence of 5.58 per thousand births of which 19.2% were FDIU (fetal deaths in utero). A polymalformative syndrome was found in 26.5% of cases which makes a total number of 470 anomalies. The musculoskeletal anomalies predominate with a rate of 33%, followed by neurological abnormalities 18%, of whom 31% were hydrocephalus, 26.2% anencephaly, and 20.24% spina bifida. Malformations of the eye, ear, face and neck were described in 12% of the cases, while genetic abnormalities were observed in 8,5% of which 87.5% represented Down syndrome. The antenatal diagnosis of congenital malformations was performed in 28.6% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a general overview of the epidemiological situation related to different types of congenital anomalies for a specific area in Morocco. It represents a database that should be complemented by other multicenter studies and the implementation of a national registry to determine the prevalence of congenital malformations at a national level.