Incidence of nonsyndromic congenital heart defects in the Republic of Srpska in the period 2015-2016

Background/Aim. Congenital heart defect (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect and one of the leading causes of infant mortality. It can be isolated or occurs as a part of many different syndromes. The reported worldwide incidence of isolated CHD is between 70 and 120 per 10,000 live births. In this study, we wanted to estimate the incidence of nonsyndromic CHD in the Republic of Srpska and to compare our findings to the literature. Methods. The fetuses, live-born and stillborn infants with CHD during 2015 and 2016 in the Republic of Srpska were analyzed using data from a cross-sectional study. Results. The total incidence of CHD was 163.95 per 10,000 total births and the incidence of live born with CHD was 136.64 per 10,000. Diagnose was established prenatally in 8.09% of cases. The most common type of defect was ventricular septal defect (45.63%), followed by an atrial septal defect (31.40%), patent ductus arteriosus (7.44%) and pulmonary valve stenosis (5.18%). Significant differences in incidence between regions and between different maternal age groups were found. Conclusion. The incidence of CHD in the Republic of Srpska is higher than in other reports with marked heterogeneity between different regions. This study provides baseline data for future monitoring of the risk factors changes and the implementation of primary preventive measures.