Objective: To describe the prevalence, associated anomalies, prenatal diagnosis and survival of cases of gastroschisis.
Method: Data were extracted from the Northern Congenital Abnormality Survey (NorCAS) for cases delivered during 1997 to 2006.
Results: A total of 143 cases of gastroschisis were notified from 310 410 registered births. Ten (7%) gastroschisis cases were associated with other structural anomalies. The male to female ratio among isolated gastroschisis cases was 1:1.1 and 4:1 among non-isolated cases. The total prevalence for isolated cases was 4.28 per 10,000 births (95% CI 3.56-5.01), and the overall live birth prevalence was 4.21 per 10,000 live births (95% CI 3.49-4.93). There was an increase in total prevalence during the ten years, although this increase did not reach statistical significance (chi(2) test for trend = 0.996, p = 0.318). The maternal age-specific prevalence was highest in the less than 20 years age group (18.6 per 10 000 births (95% CI 14.0-23.3)). 130 (97.7%) isolated cases resulted in a live birth; 122 (91.7%) infants were alive at age one year. The accuracy of prenatal diagnosis was high, with gastroschisis being detected in 130 (97.7%) isolated cases.
Conclusion: This population-based study demonstrates a continued increase in gastroschisis, especially in young mothers. The accuracy of prenatal diagnosis was very high. Just over 90% of children born with gastroschisis survived.