Spectrum of cyanotic congenital heart disease diagnosed by echocardiographic evaluation in patients attending paediatric cardiology clinic of a tertiary cardiac care centre.

BACKGROUND

Cyanotic CHD comprises up to 25% of cases of all causes of CHD.

RATIONALE: There is lack of data about the present spectrum of congenital cyanotic heart disease in the paediatric age group.

OBJECTIVE

The present study was undertaken to determine the spectrum of patients with congenital cyanotic heart disease in the paediatric age group in tertiary paediatric cardiac care clinic.

DESIGN

Prospective observational study.

SETTING

Paediatric cardiac clinic of a tertiary cardiac care centre.

METHODS

All children aged 0-18 years with suspected cyanotic CHD were provisionally included in this study. They underwent a thorough echocardiographic evaluation, and those patients who had definitive diagnosis of congenital cyanotic heart disease were included for final analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 119 children met the inclusion criteria. Tetralogy of Fallot and its variant were the most common congenital cyanotic heart disease with proportion of about 44%. Other common malformations were double outlet right ventricle (14%), pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (8%), total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (7%), d-transposition of the great arteries (9%), tricuspid valve anomalies--tricuspid atresia and Ebstein's anomaly--hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, truncus arteriosus, and complex CHD such as single ventricle.

CONCLUSION

Tetralogy of Fallot and its variants were the most common cyanotic heart disease diagnosed in our patients. As there were a significant proportion of cases with complex cyanotic CHD, paediatric cardiologists should be familiar with the diagnosis and management of all these complex congenital malformations of the heart.