Table 1.
Total birth prevalence per type of congenital limb defects for the period 1981–2010 in the northern Netherlands
| CLD | Isolated CLD, n | Multiple congenital anomalies, n | CLD is part of a recognised condition, n | Total, n | Prevalence per 10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polydactyly |
291 |
45 |
83 |
419 |
8.4 |
| Upper limb |
228 |
38 |
63a |
329 |
6.6 |
| Preaxial |
73 |
13 |
20 |
106 |
2.1 |
| Postaxial |
141 |
21 |
39 |
201 |
4.0 |
| NOS |
14 |
4 |
6 |
24 |
0.5 |
| Lower limb |
75 |
9 |
32 |
116 |
2.3 |
| Preaxial |
12 |
1 |
8 |
21 |
0.4 |
| Postaxial |
59 |
7 |
19 |
85 |
1.7 |
| NOS |
4 |
1 |
5 |
10 |
0.2 |
| NOS |
4 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
0.1 |
| Upper and lower limb |
16 |
2 |
14 |
32 |
0.6 |
| Reduction defects |
180 |
42 |
120 |
342 |
6.9 |
| Upper limb |
128 |
28 |
94 |
250 |
5.0 |
| Transverse |
89 |
17 |
39 |
145 |
2.9 |
| Longitudinal |
21b |
9 |
51 |
81 |
1.6 |
| Preaxial |
12 |
7 |
33 |
52 |
1.0 |
| Postaxial |
10 |
2 |
18 |
30 |
0.6 |
| Intercalary |
3 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
0.2 |
| Central |
16 |
1 |
4 |
21 |
0.4 |
| Multiple |
1 |
0 |
5 |
6 |
0.1 |
| Lower limb |
66 |
25 |
58 |
149 |
3.0 |
| Transverse |
29 |
15 |
31 |
75 |
1.5 |
| Longitudinal |
23c |
5 |
24 |
52 |
1.0 |
| Preaxial |
4 |
3 |
9 |
16 |
0.3 |
| Postaxial |
21 |
2 |
16 |
39 |
0.8 |
| Intercalary |
7 |
5 |
10 |
22 |
0.4 |
| Central |
13 |
1 |
2 |
16 |
0.3 |
| Multiple |
7 |
2 |
8d |
17 |
0.3 |
| NOS |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0.04 |
| NOS |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0.02 |
| Upper and lower limb |
14 |
11 |
33 |
58 |
1.2 |
| Syndactyly |
126 |
29 |
77 |
232 |
4.7 |
| Upper limb |
77 |
17 |
46 |
140 |
2.8 |
| Lower limb |
59 |
12 |
46 |
117 |
2.4 |
| NOS |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0.02 |
| Upper and lower limb |
10 |
1 |
15 |
26 |
0.5 |
| Other CLDe |
41 |
34 |
88 |
163 |
3.3 |
| Upper limb |
18 |
14 |
66 |
98 |
2.0 |
| Lower limb |
25 |
22 |
53 |
100 |
2.0 |
| NOS |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0.02 |
| Upper and lower limb |
2 |
3 |
31 |
36 |
0.7 |
| Multiple CLDf |
38g |
14g |
49g |
101 |
2.0 |
| Total no. of cases |
598 |
135 |
315 |
1048 |
21.1 |
| Total no. of live births | 587 | 77 | 159 | 823 | 16.5 |
Total number of births for the period 1981–2010: n = 497,751.
Abbreviations: CLD–congenital limb defects, NOS–not otherwise specified, n–number of children with CLD.
aTwo children had preaxial and postaxial polydactyly of upper limbs.
bOne child had preaxial and postaxial longitudinal reduction defects of upper limbs.
cTwo children had preaxial and postaxial longitudinal reduction defects of lower limbs.
dOne child had transversal, longitudinal and intercalary reduction defects of lower limbs.
eThe category consisted of CLD like arthrogryposis (n = 40), hemihypertrophy (n = 25), contractures of elbows/knees/fingers (n = 19), undergrowth of limbs (n = 9), radio-ulnar synostosis (n = 5), macrodactyly (n = 4).
fCategory containing cases with several CLD included in the study.
gChildren in the group with isolated (n = 2), multiple congenital anomalies (n = 1), and CLD as part of a recognised condition (n = 4) had three types of CLD, whereas the rest of the children with multiple limb defects had two types of CLD.