Turkish Neurosurgery 2020 , Vol 30 , Num 3
ABO and Rh Blood Groups and Risk of Myelomeningocele
Semra ISIK1,Serdar CEVIK2,Ali Haydar TURHAN3,Arzu BAYGUL4,Hakan HANIMOGLU5
1Baskent University Istanbul Health Research and Application Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey
2Sisli Memorial Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey
3Baskent University Istanbul Health Research and Application Center, Department of Neonatology, Istanbul, Turkey
4Koc University, School of Medicine, Department of Biostatistics, Istanbul, Turkey
5Biruni University School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey
DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.28913-19.2 AIM: To investigate the relationship between the distribution of ABO or Rhesus (Rh) blood group antigens and the incidence of myelomeningocele.

MATERIAL and METHODS: A retrospective data was reviewed for all myelomeningocele patients operated at a tertiary academic hospital between years 2014 and 2019. Age, sex, delivery method, physical and neurological examination findings, and radiological findings alongside with blood type of each patient were recorded. The data of blood group distribution among the study patients was compared to the data of healthy individuals in the same region.

RESULTS: Patients with group B and AB showed a higher chance of developing myelomeningocele. Rh-positive blood group was associated with high incidence of myelomeningocele (93.5%), whereas Rh-negative blood group showed least association (6.5%). Rh-positive blood group was also found to be more frequent in patients with myelomeningocele with hydrocephalus and Chiari malformation.

CONCLUSION: The findings of this study show that ABO and Rh blood groups have an effect on the development of myelomeningocele under the influence of environmental or genetic factors. Keywords : ABO blood groups, Myelomeningocele, Neural tube defects, Rh blood groups

Corresponding author : Semra ISIK, drsemraisik@gmail.com