Affiliations: Division of Neurological Surgery, Department of
Surgery, Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) and Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria | Department of Pediatrics, Lagos State University
College of Medicine (LASUCOM) and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital
(LASUTH), Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria | Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lagos State
University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) and Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Olufemi Emmanuel Idowu, Division of
Neurological Surgery, Department of Surgery, Lagos State University College of
Medicine (LASUCOM), Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel.: +234 8023 451 369; E-mail:
oeidowu412@yahoo.com
Abstract: Cranial and spinal dysraphisms have different incidence in different
parts of the world depending on the geographic region, ethnicity, socioeconomic
status of the parents, maternal age and parity. Our aim was to determine the
current state of neural tube defects in our environment where there is no
policy of food supplementation with folic acid. A prospective study of 47
consecutive patients (and their parents) with neural tube defects who presented
at the pediatric and neurosurgical unit of Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos between August 2006 and July 2007 were studied. Most
patients were males. The male to female ratio for myelomeningocoele and
encephalocele was 2:1 and 1:1.5, respectively. The most common dysraphism was
open spinal dysraphism (77%) and this occurred usually at the lumbosacral
region (67%). None of the infants was offspring of consanguineous marriage.
Most patients were second born. Presentation of patients to the hospital was
after 48 hours of delivery in majority of cases. The average maternal age at
conception was 27 years (18–37 years). There was no history of preconception
use of folic acid in all the mothers of the patients. There is a need to
consider an aggressive approach to periconceptional folic acid supplementation
for our women and early referral of patients with cranial and spinal
dysraphisms. Policy to encourage fortification of a staple food with folic acid
is urgently needed.
