Prevalence and characteristics of congenital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot) in Northern Ghana: a two year retrospective descriptive study

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and phenotypic characteristics of clubfoot in the Northern Region, one of the most deprived regions of Ghana.Method: Parameters of interest included sex distribution, laterality, types of clubfoot, annual trends and prevalence rate.  Data was collected in the sole clubfoot clinic for the region from January 2015 to December 2016. A descriptive statistical analysis of the data was conducted using SPSS version 16. Result: A total of 112 cases were recorded, resulting in a prevalence rate of 0.9 per 1000 live births. The highest number of cases for both years was recorded in January. Twice the number of males were affected as females and bilateral clubfoot formed 65.5% of case presentations while idiopathic clubfoot made up 67.9% of total clubfoot types. Almost same numbers of left (n=19) feet were affected as right (n=20) in unilateral clubfoot.Conclusions: The phenotypic characteristics were similar to findings in other parts of Ghana, Africa and the world although the prevalence rate was lower than expected. Future investigations into associated risk factors and the influencers of the phenotypic and annual trends are therefore warranted.