Objective: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the prevalence and pattern of congenital malformations of the gastrointestinal tract among the Saudi newborn population in Aseer region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Methods: Every consecutive newborn admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Aseer Central Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with features of gastrointestinal tract anomaly during the period January 1995 to December 2000 had relevant data obtained and entered into a program form.
Results: During the 6 year period, a total of 1386 Saudi infants were admitted into the neonatal intensive care unit of Aseer Central Hospital. Of these, 12.4% were confirmed to have congenital malformation of the gastrointestinal tract; male/female ratio of 1.7: 1. The total number of live births by Saudi mothers in Aseer region during the period was 128,093, giving an incidence rate of 1.3 per 1000 live births. The 172 newborns presented with 174 anomalies of the gastrointestinal tract. The leading