[A clinico-epidemiological study of neural tube defects in newborn infants]

This is a retrospective study on the rate of inborn defects of neural tube in University Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology--Sofia for two 5-years-long periods of time: from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1997. The results show an increasing rate of inborn NTD during the second period of time which can be partly explained by the fact that the hospital is National Perinatal Centre where high risk pregnancies and deliveries are concentrated. Most disturbing is the fact that more than half of life-born and still-born infants with NTD are at an age of gestation higher than 34 g.w. This is a result of late perinatal diagnosis of these defects and brings up serious psychological, social and economical problems.