Continuing Medical Education
Aetiology and antenatal diagnosis of spina bifida
Abstract
Spinal neural tube defects (NTDs) result from failure of neural tube closure that normally occurs at 15 - 28 days after conception. Birth prevalence figures for spina bifida vary, but on average are around 0.1%. There are no recent figures for South Africa, but previous studies have shown an incidence from 0.77 - 6.1/1 000 live births, with higher incidences in rural areas. The true incidence of NTDs is thought to be higher, but is difficult to calculate as this includes both spontaneous and therapeutic pregnancy losses.
Authors' affiliations
Karen Fieggen, Division of Medical Genetics, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Chantal Stewart, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
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Date published: 2014-02-13
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