title: Prune belly syndrome and associated malformations. A 13-year experience from a developing country.
abstract: A retrospective investigation was conducted to describe clinical features and birth outcomes among babies with prune belly syndrome detected ante-natally and at birth at the University Teaching Hospital in Cameroon. A total of 11 cases were identified over a period of 13 years, and the majority of affected fetuses were male (10 of 11). Most of the mothers were less than 30 years of age, had singleton pregnancies, and about two-thirds were complicated by placenta praevia, genital infections, preeclampsia, and anaemia associated with hookworm infestations. The most prominent findings related to prune belly syndrome among our patients were clubfoot (45%), pulmonary hypoplasia (27%), Potter facies (27%), imperforate anus (27%), and arthrogryposis (18%). About two-thirds of the affected pregnancies did not reach the age of viability either due to voluntary termination (three of seven cases) or spontaneous abortion (four of seven cases). Of the remaining four viable pregnancies, two cases each of stillbirth and neonatal death were recorded. Among pregnancies that were not voluntarily terminated (n = 8), multiple concomitant anomalies and bilateral renal lesions were apparently the cause of fetal/infant death in the majority of cases (75%). In conclusion, Cameroonian babies with prune belly syndrome presented with clinical features that were comparable to those observed in developed nations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Boulevard, Room 320, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA. hsalihu@uab.edu
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Salihu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tchuinguem
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Aliyu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kouam
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D000328:Adult; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D019049:Developed Countries; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000002:abnormalities; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007229:Infant Welfare; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000002:abnormalities; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011535:Prune Belly Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal