Pattern of Congenital Heart Disease in Newborn at a Tertiary Care Hospital

ABSTRACT

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) has been defined as a gross structural abnormality of the heart or intrathoracic great vessels that are actually or potentially of functional significance. CHD accounts for about 10% of newborn deaths and nearly half of all deaths due to congenital malformations in developed countries. The vast majority of newborns escape early intervention. The most important role of a pediatrician today is to ensure that, as far as possible, serious CHD should not be missed, especially in the neonatal period and infancy where maximum attrition for CHD occurs. Objective: The objective of the study was to identify the pattern of CHD using echocardiography in newborns born in a tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu. Methodology: A cross-sectional observational study conducted for 1 year. One hundred and fifty newborns diagnosed to have CHD after they underwent routine clinical examination and pulse oximetry, followed by echocardiography, were included in this study. Study design: This is a cross-sectional study. Place of study Government Theni Medical College. Study period 1 year. Sample size 150. Inclusion Criteria Newborns diagnosed to have CHD confirmed with echocardiography were included in this study. Exclusion Criteria Newborns whose parents refused to provide consent were excluded from the study. Results: This study group includes 56% of girls and 44% of boys. It shows that 83% are term babies and the remaining 17% from preterm groups. Among these, 146 babies had acyanotic heart disease as 97% and rest four newborns as 3% had cyanotic disease. Among 146 acyanotic heart disease, 76 newborns (52%) had atrial septal defect (ASD), followed by patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in 59 newborns (40%), ventricular septal defect (VSD) in 15 newborns (10%), pulmonary hypertension in eight newborns (5%), and magnetic resonance in only one newborn (0.6%). Among four newborns presented with cyanotic heart disease, two newborns presented with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (50%), followed by transposition of great arteries (25%) and tetralogy of Fallot TOF (25%). Conclusion: In our study, the pattern of CHD is ASD, followed by PDA and VSD.