Neurological congenital malformations in a tertiary hospital in south Brazil.

BACKGROUND Congenital anomalies are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality among infants. The involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) occurs in 21% of cases. OBJECTIVE To identify incidence of CNS malformations and associated factors in newborns at a Terciary Hospital of Porto Alegre. METHOD Case-control study conducted between 2000 and 2005 based on the Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations database. RESULTS Among 26,588 births registered in this period, 3.67% presented with malformations (IC=95%; 3.44-3.9), being 0.36% of the CNS (IC=95%,(0.29-0.43)). The most common CNS malformation was meningomielocele (10.4%). Young maternal age (p=0.005); low birth weight (p=0.015); large cephalic perimeter (p=0.003); post term birth (p=0.000) and low APGAR indexes at the 1st and 5th minutes were associated with CNS malformations. CONCLUSION We found an incidence of CNS malformations similar as compared to literature.