Spectrum of Congenital Heart Diseases in Children at a Tertiary Care Centre: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: A gross anatomical anomaly of the heart or intrathoracic great vessels that is actually or potentially functionally significant is referred to as congenital heart disease (CHD). One of the main reasons for newborn mortality is CHDs. A significant hospital-based study from India estimates that 3.9 out of every 1000 live babies are affected by congenital heart disease. Thus, we conducted this research with the aim to study the prevalence, age-wise distribution, and clinical spectrum of congenital heart disease (CHD) in a tertiary care medical college hospital in Maharashtra. Methodology: This was a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out from March 2020 to March 2022 at a tertiary care hospital and medical college. The study included records of all discharged live births (CHD patients) as well as all in and outpatients between the ages of 0-18 years. For the diagnosis of CHD, a definition proposed by Mitchell et al. was applied. Results: CHD was detected in 9 out of 645 live births in the hospital during the study period. 168 children were diagnosed to be having some type of CHD. Ventricular septal defect was the most common heart lesion 43 (25.6%). Maximum number of cases were seen in 0-3 years age group (86.3%). Conclusion: The present study’s finding indicates that the prevalence of CHD in Maharashtra is less compared to the prevalence reported in some other studies worldwide. However, it is a serious problem, which requires immediate attention for the improvement of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities which is accessible to the common man.