Twinning across the Developing World

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Sirenomelia in a Nigerian triplet: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Sirenomelia, also known as mermaid syndrome, is a very rare fatal congenital abnormality in which the legs are fused together, giving them the appearance of a mermaid's tail. It is commonly associated with abnormal kidney development, genital and rectal abnormalities. A handful of cases have been reported in other parts of the world, however, no cases have previously been reported in a Nigerian neonate. To the best of our knowledge, we believe that this is the first case reported from West Africa and in a triplet.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 16-hour-old baby boy, the second of a set of Nigerian triplets, presented to our facility with fusion of the entire lower limbs, imperforate anus, indiscernible genital structures, single umbilical artery and a neural tube defect. His parents were from the Hausa ethnic group and not related.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Sirenomelia has not been previously described in a set of triplets, and it is hoped that this report from West Africa will give information about the non-racial predilection of this condition.</p

Prevalência de nascimentos gemelares em Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil Prevalence of twin births in Pelotas, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

OBJETIVOS: avaliar a prevalência de nascimentos gemelares em Pelotas, RS, em três períodos da última década e a influência de alguns fatores sobre este processo. MÉTODOS: estudo de corte transversal (série temporal), baseado no banco de dados do Programa de Monitorização de Defeitos Congênitos, onde se encontram registrados todos os nascimentos ocorridos nos cinco hospitais da cidade de Pelotas, nos anos de 1993, 1997 e 2003. RESULTADOS: a taxa média de gêmeos por mil nascimentos foi de 8,95&#137; (monozigóticos=2,20&#137; e dizigóticos=6,76&#137; ). A taxa de triplos ficou em 0,07&#137; . A taxa total de nascimentos gemelares, assim como de gêmeos monozigóticos e dizigóticos sofreu elevação no período. A média de idade (27,53 anos) e da ordem gestacional (2,35) das mães de gêmeos foi significativamente mais elevada do que das mães de únicos (26,03 anos e 2,14) respectivamente. Verificaram-se números aproximados de partos gemelares e únicos nos diferentes grupos de renda materna analisados. CONCLUSÕES: as mães com idade maior ou igual a 30 anos foram responsáveis pelo aumento da taxa de gêmeos em Pelotas. A média mais elevada de ordem gestacional em mães de gemelares descartou o uso significativo de técnicas de reprodução assistida.<br>OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the prevalence of twin births in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, during three periods, and the influence of a number of factors on this occurrence. METHODS: a cross-cutting (multiple time series) study was carried out, using the database of the Congenital Defect Monitoring Program, which registers all of the births occurring in the five hospitals of the city of Pelotas, for the years 1993, 1997 and 2003. RESULTS: the mean prevalence of twin births per thousand births (&#137; )t was 8.95&#137; (monozygotic=2.20&#137; and dizygotic=6.76&#137; ). The prevalence of triplets was 0.07&#137; . The total prevalence for twin births, in the case of both monozygotic and dizygotic twins rose over the period studied. The mean age of the mother (27.53 years) and the order in the series of gestations (2.35) were significantly higher in cases of twin births than in cases of the birth of a single infant (26.03 years and 2.14 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: mothers aged >30 years were responsible for the increase in the prevalence of twin births in Pelotas. The higher mean position in a sequence of gestations among mothers of twins ruled out the significance of the use of fertility treatment techniques