Prevalence, profile, and pattern of congenital heart disease in Central India: A prospective, observational study

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and pattern of congenital heart disease (CHD) using echocardiography. Materials and Methods: Patients of 0–12-year-old attending outpatient and inpatient of pediatric department clinically diagnosed with heart disease were further evaluated with chest radiography, twelve-lead electrocardiograms, and the confirmation of the diagnosis was done using two-dimensional echocardiography. Results: Among a total of 42,423 patients availing outpatient and inpatient facilities at the pediatric department of a tertiary referral center, 655 were clinically suspected as having heart disease among which 430 patients were identified as CHD, giving a prevalence of 10.13/1000 live births. About 56.28% patients were below 1 year and male:female ratio was 1.3:1. Consanguinity was observed in 42.09% and most of them were of third degree. Breathlessness was the most common symptom and tachycardia was the most common sign. About 66.74% of patients were diagnosed with acyanotic and 33.26% with cyanotic type. The most common CHD was ventricular septal defect (VSD) (30.01%) followed by atrial septal defect (20.70%), tetralogy of fallot (TOF) (16.05%), and patent ductus arteriosus (10.23%). The most common cyanotic CHD was TOF followed by transposition of great vessels, total anomalous pulmonary venous connection, and single ventricle. Case fatality rate was 19.23% and most of the deaths in neonatal age group due to complex CHD, refractory congestive cardiac failure, sepsis, and pneumonia. Conclusion: The prevalence of CHD in this study was 10.13/1000 live births. VSD and TOF were the most common acyanotic and cyanotic CHD, respectively. Case fatality rate was 19.23% and most of the deaths occurred in neonatal age.