Preoperative quality of life of patients with cleft lip and palate in Nigeria: a multicentre cross-sectional pilot study

• Published in: The Pan African medical journal Vol. 48; p. 50
• Main Authors: Michael, Afieharo Igbibia, Olusanya, Adeola Adenike, Okoli, Chinedu Michael, Martins, Bardi, Akintayo, Akintunde Joseph, Onwuagha, Ijeoma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Uganda 2024
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Cleft Lip - surgery; Cleft Palate - surgery; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Nigeria; Pilot Projects; Preoperative Period; Quality of Life; Sex Factors; Young Adult; Nigeria; patient-reported outcome; quality of life; Cleft lip and palate
• ISSN: 1937-8688; 1937-8688
• DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2024.48.50.42111

the objective of this study was to determine the quality of life (QoL) of the patient with a cleft lip or palate scheduled for surgery.
this analytic multicenter cross-sectional study involved six participating Smile Train Partner Hospitals from five geopolitical zones of the country and three major ethnic groups. Patients with cleft lip or cleft palate aged between 8 to 29 years scheduled for repair were recruited. The main outcome measure was quality of life scores as measured by cleft Q.
thirty-four (females 18, males 16) patients were scheduled for surgery of either cleft lip n=7 (20.6%) or cleft palate n=27 (79.4). Patients scheduled for primary surgeries were more than those for secondary surgeries, 23 (68.7%) vs 10 (30.3%). Of the QoL scales, the speech distress score was the least (56.0 ± 22.6) and the psychological score highest (73.9 ± 15.8). All QoL mean scores except the psychological score fell below normative cleft Q scores. The psychological scores in males (80.9 ± 16.2) were significantly higher than in females (67.7 ± 12.9, p=0.01). Patients for lip repair had lower psychological scores than those for palatal repair (median=59 vs 73, p=0.01). Patients for palate repair demonstrated significantly lower speech function and distress scores than those for lip repair (p=0.01, p<0.01 respectively).
most of the QoL measures in patients with cleft lip and palate in this study fell below normative values. Gender and cleft type affect the quality of life. A larger study is recommended to establish national normative data.