Demographic characteristics of cases diagnosed with cleft palate

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the cleft palate cases in our neonatal clinic and to examine the associatedclinical features, predisposing factors, accompanying anomalies, additional fidings, treatment approaches and follow-up results.Material and Methods: The study included babies that were diagnosed with cleft palate in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit betweenJanuary 2014 and December 2018. The etiological risk factors, demographic characteristics, clinical features and concomitantmalformations of the patients included in the study were retrospectively recorded from the patient fies and the database system ofour hospital.Results: A total of 70 cleft palate patients were observed over a fie year period. Of these, 30 (42.9%) were female and 40 (57.1%)were male. The mean gestational age was 38 ± 2.9 weeks and the mean birth weight was 2845 ± 700 grams. 77.1% of the patientswere found to additionally have cleft lips. 27 patients (38.5%) had cardiac defects, 18 (25.7%) had central nervous system anomaliesand 4 (5.7%) had hypothyroidism. 24 (34.3%) of the parents were consanguineous. The median age at the time of the initial operationwas 13 months for cleft palate cases and 5 months for cleft lip cases.Conclusion: As a result, treatment and follow-up of patients with cleft palate defect requires a multidisciplinary approach. Thesepatients should undergo a thorough examination and evaluation. Since many syndromes or malformations may accompany thepalate defects, these cases should be investigated with respect to genetic disease and other system anomalies.