The spectrum of cyanotic heart defects in a tertiary care hospital in north india

Background: There is a lack of data about the present spectrum of congenital cyanotic heart disease [CCHD] in the pediatric age group. The present study was undertaken to determine the spectrum of patients with CCHD in the paediatric age group in tertiary paediatric cardiac care centre.
Methods: The study was carried out in the Department of Paediatrics Government Medical College Srinagar. All patients referred with complaints or clinical examination suggestive of CHD were further evaluated .On basis of clinical examination, echocardiography findings patients having congenital heart defects were included as cases which were further divided into cyanotic and acyanotic heart defects. The profile and mode of presentation of various cyanotic CHDs were further described in detail.
Results: There were 543 subjects with CCHD with a male to female ratio of 1.6:1. The children were aged between 2 days to 14 years. The most common type of CCHD (both isolated and multiple CCHD) was tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) followed by transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and double outlet right ventricle (DORV). The most common mode of presentation was cyanosis.
Conclusion: This study have yielded important data on epidemiology and incidence of CCHDs. This has raised the important need to prioritise the foetal and early neonatal diagnosis of cyanotic CHD through various modalities like foetal echocardiography and neonatal echocardiography screening as the majority of the neonates with congenital cyanotic heart disease showed survival with appropriate management.