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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2010 Jul 1;101(4):341–344. doi: 10.1007/BF03405299

Incidence of Clubfoot in Uganda

Richard G Mathias 117,✉, Joseph Konde Lule 217, Gonzaga Waiswa 317, Edward K Naddumba 317, Shafique Pirani 417; Uganda Sustainable Clubfoot Care Project
PMCID: PMC6973970  PMID: 21033551

Abstract

Background

While the congenital clubfoot deformity is a common deformity recorded in Uganda, the incidence of the condition had never been accurately determined. The objective of this study was to measure the overall incidence of congenital clubfoot deformity in a representative sample of births.

Methods

A study of all babies born with foot anomalies took place from March 2006 to October 2007. The study was based at 8 Regional Hospitals with active maternity units and a functioning clubfoot clinic. All babies with foot deformities at birth at any of eight centres as detected by the delivery room staff were referred to the respective centre’s clubfoot clinic. The children were examined by clubfoot clinic orthopedic officers who diagnosed the specific deformity. Children referred to the clinic from any source and born at the maternity unit were included in the study. The denominator was all live births at the centre during the study period.

Results

The total number of live births during the study period was 110,336. The maternity units of the centres identified 290 infants with a foot deformity. One hundred and thirty infants born during the study period were diagnosed in the clubfoot clinic as having a congenital clubfoot deformity. The proportion of infants with a clubfoot deformity was 1.2 per 1000 births over the 20-month period. The male to female ratio was 2.4:1.

Recommendation

The rate of clubfoot deformities in the newborn can be used to estimate the numbers of children who should be treated and to estimate resource needs for the identification and management of this treatable congenital malformation. By comparing the number of those treated with the expected number of cases, the numbers of children with neglected clubfoot can be calculated.

Key words: Clubfoot, incidence, gender ratio

Footnotes

Acknowledgements: This study was carried out as part of the Uganda Sustainable Clubfoot Care Project (USCCP), a six-year project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. USCCP partners include: The University of British Columbia; Makerere University; the Ugandan Ministry of Health; the Children’s Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Unit (CORU), Uganda; and Christian Blind Mission (CBM).

We thank the maternity units, the clubfoot clinic staff and the medical directors at each of the centres who were partners in the completion of this study. Members of the Uganda Sustainable Clubfoot Care Project include S. Pirani, E.K. Naddumba, J. Konde-Lule, R. Mathias, B. Mbonye, F. Franceschi, J. Amoni.

We acknowledge the help of our research assistants: Ms. Marieke Dreise, Mr. Dirisa Kitemagwa, Mr. Henry Musoke.

The Uganda Sustainable Clubfoot Care Project is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

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