Descriptive epidemiology of orofacial clefts in Africa using data from 46,502 Smile Train surgeries

Management of Orofacial Cleft in Nigeria - A Retrospective Study

Introduction

Orofacial clefts (OFCs) are among the most common craniofacial developmental abnormalities worldwide and a significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to identify patterns of patient presentation, treatment approaches, and changes in our overall cleft care service between 2007 and 2019.

Methods and Methodology

A retrospective review of patients managed at a tertiary health facility in Nigeria of all OFC cases operated between 2007 and 2019 was done using the postintervention data retrieved from the Smile Train database. Data of all OFC cases operated within the period were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Descriptive statistics were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0.

Results

A total number of 740 OFC surgeries were performed in 565 patients, consisting of 269 females (48.2%) and 289 males (51.8%). The majority (63%) of the patients presented before the age of 2 years. Thirty-seven percent presented with cleft lip and alveolus, 27.1% with cleft palate only, and 36.7% with cleft lip, alveolus, and palate. Primary cleft lip repair was the most performed surgery (n = 320, 43.2%), the mean age at repair was 2.1 years. Since 2017, additional services such as speech therapy, mixed dentition orthodontics, and nutritional support were added to services provided to our cleft patients. Fifteen patients have undergone speech assessment and three have completed speech treatment. Eight patients have undergone mixed dentition stage orthodontic treatment.

Discussion

Our services have evolved from simply providing surgical care to comprehensive care with a multidisciplinary team approach and provision of a wide range of services including nutritional counseling, pediatric care, orthodontic services, and speech therapy. We believe these will improve the overall well-being of our patients while we continue to improve on services based on clinical research outcomes.

Breastfeeding Practices Among Mothers of Children With Orofacial Clefts in an African Cohort

OBJECTIVE

To carry out a survey of breastfeeding practices and related challenges among mothers with orofacial cleft babies attending the cleft clinic of a tertiary health institution.

METHODOLOGY

This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Sample population was all mothers of babies aged between 1 and 18 months with nonsyndromic orofacial clefts attending the cleft clinic of a tertiary health institution in Nigeria.

RESULT

A total of 65 mothers participated in the study. Initiation of breastfeeding was reported by the majority (83%, n = 54) of the mothers, and only 18.5% (n = 10) of this proportion continued exclusive breastfeeding. Inability of the babies to suck was reported by 46% (n = 30) of the mothers as being the most important challenge in breastfeeding. There was a significant correlation between the type of cleft and challenge in breastfeeding (Fisher exact P = .001). Sixty-three percent (n = 41) of the mothers reported they received no counseling on overcoming challenges associated with feeding their babies with a cleft at the facility where they delivered. Sixty-nine percent (n = 45) reported they first received nutritional information from the cleft clinic at presentation. The most adopted substitute for breastfeeding was the use of regular feeding bottles (n = 24, 43.6%).

CONCLUSION

Rate of initiation of breastfeeding for children with orofacial clefts in this African cohort is higher than reported in other populations despite the low level of nutritional counseling of the mothers after delivery.

Health Information Seeking Through Social Media and Search Engines by Parents of Children With Orofacial Cleft in Nigeria

Objective:

To ascertain the level of utilization of social media platforms and search engines by parents of children with orofacial cleft presenting to our clinic, with respect to information seeking about the condition and its treatment.

Materials and Methods:

All consenting parents of children attending the cleft outpatient clinic of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos, within the study period were included in the sample population. Data collection was done using a 17-item interviewer-administered questionnaire.

Results:

A total of 50 parents participated in the study. Eighty-eight percent first sought information about their child’s condition from hospital medical staff. Sixty-eight percent of the parents are active users of social media for general purposes, with Facebook being the most used platform (62%). Forty percent of the total respondents have used search engines/social media to seek information on their child’s condition, with majority of those (80%) using Google to search for such information, 35% of the search was in relation to diagnosis, and 75% of the parents considered the information obtained very useful. Only 3 parents reported being part of a social media support group based on their child’s condition.

Conclusion:

The use of Internet resources for information seeking among the population studied is low. There is need to leverage on social media to provide support groups for families with children who have cleft.