Congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in Nigeria

Thirty one infants with congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis seen over a five year period (1970-1974) at the University College Hospital Ibadan are reported. Most of the patients presented late. There is a much higher male predominance but a lower prevalence among Nigerian first born infants when compared with Caucasian infants. It is suggested that the condition though uncommon is not rare in African infants, and that environmental rather than genetic or racial factors may be responsible for the apparent lower prevalence.