Congenital Hydrocephalus and Associated Risk Factors: An Institution-Based Case–Control Study, Dessie Town, North East Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction Congenital hydrocephalus is one of the commonest congenital anomalies of the central nervous system. It is characterized by extensive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid within the ventricles of the brain due to an imbalance between synthesis and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid. This study was planned to investigate the incidence and associated risk factors of congenital hydrocephalus. Methods Unmatched case–control study was conducted in 34 (cases) and 104 (controls) pregnant women. Maternal data were collected from a structured questionnaire, and fetal-related data were recorded from obstetric ultrasound. Epi-info 7 and SPSS version 24 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. The association between congenital hydrocephalus and risk factors was evaluated using binary logistic regression. Results The incidence of congenital hydrocephalus was 2.67 per 1000 pregnancies. The result of multivariate logistic regression indicated that alcohol use and iron with folic acid supplementation during pregnancy were significantly associated with the development of congenital hydrocephalus (OR: 7.64, 95% CI: 1.97–29.66 and p-value: 0.003 and OR: 0.186, 95% CI: 0.07–0.49 and p-value: 0.001, respectively). Maternal exposure to typhus and typhoid and use of antibiotics during early pregnancy were also significantly associated with congenital hydrocephalus. Moreover, significant association was also observed between the simultaneous development of spina bifida and congenital hydrocephalus (p-value 0.03). Conclusion In conclusion, alcohol consumption, unprescribed use of antibiotics and infection during pregnancy as well as absence of folic acid supplementation may predispose to congenital hydrocephalus.

A study relating fetal hydrocephalus with family history and consanguinity in Pakistani population.

“…18,19 In a case-control study in Ethiopia, only 2 cases of enlarged fetal ventricular system were reported to be associated with consanguinity. 20 Cousin marriages or consanguinity is a common phenomenon in developing nations like Pakistan as compared to the developed Western world. Our study observed that 45% cases of hydrocephalus were associated with consanguinity while 50% exhibited consanguineous marriages but without any family history of hydrocephalus.…”

Birth prevalence and risk factors of neural tube defects in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…With respect to the geographical coverage of studies, a total of eight studies were cross-regional studies (studies taken in two or more regions of the country), among them three studies took place in Addis Ababa and Amhara region simultaneously, [59][60][61] four studies were conducted in east part of county including Oromia, Harari, Somalia and Dire Dawa city administration [62][63][64][65] and one study was carried out in Sidama and Southern Ethiopia region. 66 On the other hand, the remaining studies were exclusively conducted in four regions and one city administration (Addis Ababa=5, [67][68][69][70][71] Amhara=13, [72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84] Harari=1, 85 Oromia=10 86-95 and Tigray=5 [96][97][98][99][100] ). As displayed in the annex section, online supplemental table 3, a total of 611 064 participants were involved in 42 studies.…”

A Case of Ischiopagus Dicephalus Conjoined Twins with Tetrabrachius Bipus from Dessie, Ethiopia

“…4 Generally, multiple factors, such as alcohol consumption, drug use, radiation or chemical exposure, and lack of folic acid supplementation during pregnancy, as well as family history, are reported risk factors for the development of congenital anomalies. 5,6 Specific to conjoined twins, the exact etiology has not been discovered yet. However, in many literatures, 2,7,8 the theory of fusion (the two identical twins united together at some specific site) and the theory of fission (no complete division of the embryo) are mentioned to explain the embryologic basis of conjoined twinning.…”