To investigate the prevalence of cervical vertebral anomalies (CVA) in a group of patients presenting with cleft lip and palate (CLP) and to compare with a non-cleft population.
The sample comprised of 150 lateral cephalograms of non-syndromic patients with CLP and 150 non-cleft age-matched controls. The age range of both groups covered 6 to 20 years. An expert radiologist blinded to the cleft status evaluated the cephalograms for CVA and categorised them into normal, fusion, dehiscence and multiple cervical anomalies. The cleft group was subdivided according to the types of cleft (UCLP/ BCLP/ CPO) and gender (male/female). The CVA prevalence was compared between the cleft and non-cleft patients.
The prevalence of CVA was 37.7% and 20.7% in cleft and non-cleft patients, respectively. The difference was statistically significant with a
A high prevalence of CVA was observed in cleft patients compared with non-cleft subjects. The prevalence of CVA was similar between males and females. The practitioner should carefully evaluate the lateral cephalogram of CLP patients for CVA, which otherwise may remain undetected and lead to neurological symptoms later in life.