Congenital foot anomalies;

Background: Congenital foot anomalies affect a large number of childrenthroughout the world. Rehabilitation of these anomalies is expensive and time consuming.There are many factors responsible for these anomalies. Incidence of these anomalies variesin different areas of the world. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of congenitalfoot anomalies among children reporting at Chal foundation, Swabi, Pakistan. Study Design: Across sectional descriptive study. Setting: Chal Foundation, Swabi, Pakistan. Period: October2012 – October 2014. Methodology: Sample was selected using the convenience samplingtechnique. A total of 1141 patients visited the center, out of which 408 cases of congenitalfoot anomalies. Patient demographics including name, age, gender and district along withdiagnosis and side involvement was noted, and analyzed on SPSS v21.0. Results: A sampleof 408 patients was taken from which 70.3% were males and 29.7% were females. The meanage of the patients was 4.47 years at the time of visit. Only 5.9% cases were reported within thefirst year after birth. Right side foot anomaly was observed in 23.8% cases and 20.3% caseshad left side foot anomaly. Bilateral anomaly was observed in 55.9% cases. Among the 408cases, the most often reported was CTEV, observed in 79.7% cases. The second most commonanomaly was pes planus, observed in 8.8% cases. Conclusion: Congenital foot anomalies arecommon musculoskeletal anomalies affecting a large number of children, the most prevalentof which is CTEV. Unfortunately few people seek management in time either due to lack offacilities or awareness. Prevalent cousin marriages in the society may also play an influentialrole in increased risk of such anomalies to occur. Many of these anomalies can be managedconservatively with physical therapy and orthotics if reported in due time. Attention should bepaid on educating people regarding identification and timely management of such conditions.