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The contribution of genetic disease to paediatric mortality in a university hospital in bogota

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

J. E. Bernal
Affiliation:
Clinical Genetics Unit, Hospital San Ignacio, Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia
G. Ortega
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Hospital San Ignacio, Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia
A. Umana
Affiliation:
Clinical Genetics Unit, Hospital San Ignacio, Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia

Summary

The records of 15 years of paediatric necropsies in the Department of Pathology of the Hospital San Ignacio in Bogota were reviewed and the results classified according to the various types of genetic pathology. It is shown that out of 1463 paediatric necropsies, 377 (25·8%) had either a congenital defect or a disease considered as genetic to some extent. Simple Mendelian diseases and chromosomal disorders account together for more than 5% of the total deaths. When the pathologies with a complex genetic contribution to the aetiology are also taken into account, the figure rises to more than 20%. Overall, the study shows that the burden of genetic pathology is also important in countries, like Colombia, where other causes of death have traditionally been the main concern of public health measures.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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