Extracardiac Birth Defects in Children with Congenital Heart Defects.

Objective: To assess the proportion and pattern of extracardiac birth defects in children with congenital heart defects referred to a tertiary care institute. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study from January 2010 to June 2011. Results: Out of 560 children with congenital heart defects, 98 (17.5%) had extracardiac birth defects. Fifty-six had multiple congenital defects; 36 were syndromic cases and 6 had laterality defects. A total of 386 extracardiac birth defects (103 major and 283 minor) were documented, with craniofacial and skeletal birth defects being the commonest. Conclusion: Extracardiac birth defects are common in children with congenital heart defects.