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The Epidemiology of Conjoined Twins in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

E.E. Castilla*
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell Biology, La Plata, Argentina
J.S. Lopez-Camelo
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell Biology, La Plata, Argentina
I.M. Orioli
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
O. Sánchez
Affiliation:
Medical Genetics Unit, Electron Microscopy Center, University of Oriente Medical School, Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela
J.E. Paz
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell Biology, La Plata, Argentina
*
GENETICA/FIOCRUZ, C.P. 926, 21.040 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

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Twenty–three cases of symmetrical conjoined twins were registered by the Latin-American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC) in 1,714,952 births, which were observed during the 1967-1986 period in 95 maternity hospitals distributed in eleven Latin-American countries. This results in a birth prevalence rate of about 1/75,000 births. The secular and geographic distribution of this material do not depart from random in spite of one hospital with three cases, and two hospitals with two cases each, within a short time period. These 23 cases include one diprosopus, 3 dicephalus, one ischiopagus, 5 pygopagus, none dipygus, 3 syncephalus, none craniopagus, 9 thoracopagus, one omphalopagus, and none rachipagus. Sex distribution is even, with 12 male and 11 female cases.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1988

References

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