Registry-Based Study of Prevalence of Cleft Lip/Palate in Thailand from 2012 to 2015

Objective: Two main objectives were established. First objective was to determine the prevalence of the cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P) in Thailand from 2012 to 2015 using the orofacial clefts (OFCs) registry and civil registration. Second objective was to conduct a quality control of this OFC registry especially for the Birth Defects Registration (BDR). Design: Registry-based survey. Setting: Analyzing data from the Thailand National Health Security Office. Participants: Registered patients with CL/P in Thailand from 2012 to 2015. Intervention: None Main Outcome Measure: Duplicated records were verified using National Identity Number (Thai ID#) and date of birth. The prevalence of CL/P and specific phenotypes was then calculated. From this prevalence estimate method, quality assurance of the OFCs registry was possible. Results: For the main outcome, the population-weighted pool prevalence of CL/P was 2.14 per 1000 live births (95% confidence interval of 2.08-2.20). Thai ID# and expense reimbursement systems were the main factors driving this cases capturing. However, this OFCs registration still requires active case finding with clinical verification, improvement of staff training and databases networking. Conclusions: This study reported a very high CL/P prevalence of Thailand. Strengths and limitations of these OFCs registry and BDR were described.