Occurrences of Idiopathic Congenital Talipes Equinovarus at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

Aim: To investigate the occurrences and seasonal distribution of idiopathic clubfoot at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Study Design: A five – year – retrospective cross – sectional study was conducted from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2014.

Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted at the Department of Physiotherapy of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi – Ghana, between November 2015 and March 2016.

Methodology: Clinical folders of all congenital clubfoot cases over the stipulated period were reviewed, out of which 420 fell under idiopathic category of the deformity. Data on the demographic characteristics, coupled with the occurrences, in time series, of idiopathic clubfoot, were retrieved, entered into SPSS version 20, and analyzed with inferential and descriptive statistical tools.

Results: Four hundred and twenty (420) cases of idiopathic clubfoot were reviewed. Males recorded higher prevalence 217 (51.7%) than females, with majority of the cases (57.0%) being bilateral. Chi square testing revealed that there was no significant association between gender and number of feet affected (P = .95), and no significant associations between the climatic season and the following; dominant gender category affected (P = .43) and number of feet affected (P = .31). Analysis of the trend line produced (r = - 0.04), confirming a negative trend of the deformity since 2010, but the slope parameter is not significant at 5% significance level (P = 0.09).

Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, external climatic conditions may have very little or no influence on the occurrences and distribution of idiopathic clubfoot. Thus, the aetiology may be skewed largely to inherent pathophysiologic and or genetic events during foetal development.