Abstract:
Introduction; Neural tube defects are a group of congenital defects of the central nervous
system resulting from failure of the neural tube to close during the first few weeks of fetal
development.These defects have a multifactorial etiology, a combination of genetic
predisposition and/or environmental and dietary factors. In Ethiopia the estimated prevalence
of NTD is 63.3 per 10,000 children which is quite high.Considering the high burden of the
disease and the high cost of care of this condition we assessed the magnitude of the disease in
our institution and its associated factors. Since our facility is doing surgical intervention, the
outcome of the enrolled babies with this defect was also assessed in the study. Objective; Assess the magnitude, associated factors and discharge outcome of Neural tube
defects among newborns admitted to Jimma medical center during the study period. Methods; Hospital based prospective longitudinal study was conducted in the neonatology
unit, Department of pediatrics, Jimma Medical Center from May to October,2022. All
newborns under the age of 14 days admitted to neonatology ward that fulfilled the inclusion
criteria were included in the study. Socio-demographic and clinical data was collected using a
standard questionnaire. Any surgical intervention and discharge outcome were documented. The data was entered in to Epidata manager version 4.6 and exported to and analyzed using
SPSS version 25. Descriptive analysis and frequencies was calculated. Bivariate and
multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the associated factors for neural
tube defects. And p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results; A total of 394 newborns were included in the study the prevalence of NTD was
found to be 9.9% (95% CI 6.6-12.9%). Most common type of NTD identified was
myelomeningeocele ( 92.3%). In multi-variable logistic regression analysis rural residence AOR=2.21, 95% CI (1.06-4.56), P=0.033) and Khat chewing AOR=4.68, 95% CI (1.82-12.04, P=0.001) were associated
factors for NTD. Nine (23.1%) of newborns with NTD have died before discharge
Conclusion and recommendation: One out of ten newborns had NTD among newborns
enrolled in the study. Due attention must be given by public health experts to those mothers who
come from rular area
