Establishing of National Birth Defects Registry in Thailand
Suthipong Pangkanon MD*, Siraporn Sawasdivorn MD*, Chulaluck Kuptanon MD*, Uraiwan Chotigeat MD, BSc*, Warunee Vandepitte MD, PhD*
Affiliation : *Department of Pediatrics, Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, College of Medicine, Rangsit University, Bangkok, Thailand
Background : Deaths attributed to birth defects are a major cause of infant and under-five mortality as well as lifetime
disabilities among those who survive. In Thailand, birth defects contribute to 21% of neonatal deaths. There is currently no
systematic registry for congenital anomalies in Thailand. Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health has initiated a
Thailand Birth Defects Registry to capture birth defects among newborn infants.
Objective : To establish the national birth defects registry in order to determine the burden of birth defects in Thailand.
Material and Method: The birth defects data come from four main sources: National Birth Registry Database; National
Health Security Office’s reimbursement database; Online Birth Defect Registry Database designed to capture new cases that
were detected later; and birth defects data from 20 participated hospitals. All data are linked by unique 13-digit national
identification number and International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes. This registry includes 19 common
structural birth defects conditions and pilots in 20 hospitals. The registry is hospital-based, hybrid reporting system,
including only live births whose information was collected up to 1 year of age.
Results : 3,696 infants out of 67,813 live births (8.28% of total live births in Thailand) were diagnosed with congenital
anomalies. The prevalence rate of major anomalies was 26.12 per 1,000 live births. The five most common birth defects were
congenital heart defects, limb anomalies, cleft lip/cleft palate, Down syndrome, and congenital hydrocephalus respectively.
Conclusion : The present study established the Birth Defects Registry by collecting data from four databases in Thailand.
Information obtained from this registry and surveillance is essential in the planning for effective intervention programs for
birth defects. The authors suggest that this program should be integrated in the existing public health system to ensure
sustainability.
Keywords : Birth defects, Registry, Thailand
