Incidence of Congenital Clubfoot: Preliminary Data from Italian CeDAP Registry

Abstract

(1) Background: We find the incidence of clubfoot in Italy from "Certificate of Delivery Care Registry (CeDAP)", a database of the Italian Ministry of Health, the most comprehensive public data available for this purpose. (2) Methods: The CeDAP registry is a web system that provides epidemiological and sociodemographic information about newborns. It started on 1 January 2002, following the ministerial Decree no. 349 of 16 July 2001. The certificate is structured into six sections; each collects specific information referring to the birthplace, parents, pregnancy, childbirth, newborn, and the possible presence of congenital malformations or the causes of neonatal mortality. The midwife or the doctor draws up the certificate no later than ten days after birth. Each region transmits the data every six months to the Ministry of Health. The period between 2013 and 2017 has been selected for the study, with every Italian region's data. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study. (3) Results: The overall rate in northern Italy is 1.09 (with some exceptions described), but we think it is essential to reevaluate this number again, given more accurate data collections by every Italian hospital. (4) Conclusions: This study intends to build a framework for future epidemiologic studies about clubfoot in Italy.

Keywords: clubfoot; congenital malformation; congenital talipes equinovarus; epidemiology; newborn.