Spectrum of congenital heart diseases in children (<5 years) in a tertiary care centre

Background: Congenital heart diseases are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in children. The aim of the study was to know the spectrum of congenital heart diseases in a tertiary care centre. Methods: This was a prospective, hospital based observational study done in Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, Kanpur. Duration of study was 12 months. Patients with strong clinical suspicion of cardiac disease were enrolled and detailed clinical examination and laboratory findings of these cases were noted in a pre-structured proforma. The confirmation of presence of congenital heart disease was done by echocardiography. Results: 150 patients aged below 5 years presenting with signs and symptoms suggestive of CHD were evaluated in this study. 91 were found to have congenital heart disease. We found VSD in 31.87%, ASD in 29.98%, PDA in 9.9% TOF in 5.49% and complex heart diseases in 16.48% cases. When considering the age at presentation, we found maximum number of cases (46.15%) in 1 to 12 months of age, 37.37% cases in neonatal period, 16.48% cases in 1 to 5 years of age. Most common presenting complaint was difficulty in breathing, followed by feeding difficulty. Conclusions: Ventricular septal defect 31.87% was the commonest heart disease, followed by ASD 29.98%. The majority of these patients were seen in the age group 1 to 12 months of age.