Medical Care for 4- to 5-Year-Olds with Cleft Lip/Palate at the Tawanchai Center: Geoinformatics Study
Rumpan Pattaranit MSc*, Chainarong Songsung BSc*, Krisda Simmalee MSc** Suteera Pradubvong MSN***, Chaiwit Thanapaisal MD****
Affiliation : * Department of Medical Records and Statistics, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand ** Center of Cleft lip-Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Deformities, Khon Kaen, Thailand *** Surgery and Orthopaedic Department, Division of Nursing, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand **** Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Background : The incidence of cleft lip and cleft palate in Thailand is based on reports from three hospitals in Northeastern
Thailand. There are 2.49 new babies born with cleft lip and cleft palate and craniofacial deformities for every 1,000 babies the
highest incidence in the world. Area 7 Office of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) comprises Khon Kaen, Roi Et,
Mahasarakam and Kalasin. The number of newborns with cleft lip and palate is an estimated 114 cases/year. A retrospective
geoinformatics study was conducted using the medical records of 4- to 5-year-olds with cleft lip and cleft palate registered with
the Tawanchai Center, Srinagarind Hospital.
Objective : To study the distribution of 4- to 5-year-olds with cleft lip and palate using geoinformatics.
Material and Method: This retrospective study was conducted using data from the medical records, which contains the
records of 4- to 5-year-olds with cleft lip and cleft palate admitted to Srinagarind Hospital. The 54-patient sample groups were
registered at the Tawanchai Center, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, under the aegis of the NHSO (Area 7-Khon
Kaen). The data were collected using self-administered questionnaires between May and June 2012 and geoinformatics, to
study the distribution of patients’ vis-a-vis the various parameters.
Results : Among the 27 male and 27 female patients, 51.85% had cleft lip with cleft palate. Most of the cleft lip patients (7 cases;
41.18%) were in Khon Kaen, while 4 (44.44%) of the cleft palate patients were in Roi-Et and 11 (39.29%) of the cleft lip with
palate patients were in Khon Kaen. Most cleft lip patients were in Roi-Et province: 1 case in each of four districts. Similarly,
most cases of cleft palate were in Roi-Et province: 1 case in each of four districts. Finally, most cases (5; 50%) of cleft lip with
cleft palate were found in Roi-Et province, mostly in the central (Muang) district.
Conclusion : The use of Arc View software as an instrument for geoinformatics, spatial data collection helped to clarify the
district level distribution of patients with CLP; this information is needed for policy planning and resource allocation.
Keywords : Cleft lip, Cleft palate, Geoinformatics, Tawanchai Center, NHSO Area 7, Khon Kaen, Thailand
