International Adoption of Children with Special Needs in Spain

• Published in: Children (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 4; p. 690
• Main Authors: Hernanz Lobo, Alicia, Berzosa Sánchez, Arantxa, Escolano, Lucía, Pérez Muñoz, Sara, Gerig, Nathalia, Sainz, Talía, Mellado Peña, María Jose, García López Hortelano, Milagros
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.04.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: adoptees; Adoption; Age; BCG; BCG vaccines; Children & youth; Children with disabilities; Childrens health; Comparative analysis; Congenital diseases; Cytomegalovirus; delay in pondero-statural growth; Disabled children; Epidemiology; Families & family life; Health aspects; Hemangioma; Hemoglobin; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis C; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Immunization; Infections; Intercountry adoption; Medical records; Metabolism; Microcephaly; Orthopedics; Pathology; Quality of life; Syphilis; Tuberculosis; Spain; Vietnam; Bulgaria; China; Ethiopia; India; microcephaly; adoptees; delay in pondero-statural growth
• ISSN: 2227-9067; 2227-9067
• DOI: 10.3390/children10040690

International adoption has declined in recent years, although the adoption of children with special needs has arisen. We aim to describe our experience in the international adoption of children with special needs and to analyze the concordance between the pathologies included in pre-adoption reports and the diagnosis made upon arrival. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study including internationally adopted children with special needs evaluated at a reference Spanish unit between 2016 and 2019. Epidemiological and clinical variables were collected from medical records, and pre-adoption reports were compared to established diagnoses following their evaluation and complementary tests. Fifty-seven children were included: 36.8% females, a median age of 27 months [IQR:17-39], mostly coming from China (63.2%) and Vietnam (31.6%). The main pathologies described in the pre-adoption reports were congenital surgical malformations (40.3%), hematological (22.6%), and neurological (24.6%). The initial diagnosis that motivated the international adoption via special needs was confirmed in 79% of the children. After evaluation, 14% were diagnosed with weight and growth delay, and 17.5% with microcephaly, not previously reported. Infectious diseases were also prevalent (29.8%). According to our series, the pre-adoption reports of children with special needs appear accurate, with a low rate of new diagnoses. Pre-existing conditions were confirmed in almost 80% of cases.