Clinical profile of congenital heart disease in neonates

Objectives: Congenital heart disease is one of the most common congenital malformations affecting 6 per 1000 live births. These account for 10% of infant deaths and about 50% of deaths from malformations. This study was done to find out the incidence and clinical profile of congenital heart disease in neonates (age < 28 days) in a tertiary level hospital.Methods: was a cross-sectional descriptive type of study conducted at Department of Pediatrics, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. Sampling criteria was purposive sampling.Result: Out of 4120 neonates only 52 cases were presented with cardiac murmur clinically. Among 52 cases 40 cases were having pathological murmur and 12 cases were having innocent murmur. After doing echocardiogram 34 cases showed structural cardiac defect out of 40 pathological murmur and 4 cases showed structural cardiac defect out of 12 innocent murmur. Total cases of structural cardiacdefect(congenital heart disease) were 38(34+4). So, incidence of congenital heart disease was 9.22/1000 live births. Rest 14 cases(6+8) were having normal cardiac anatomy according to echocardiography finding. Ventricular septal defect(12) was the most common type of acyanotic congenital heart disease(12=23.08%). Then atrial septal defect(11) and patent ductus arteriosus(06) were more common. Among the congenital cyanotic heart disease tetralogy of Fallot was the most common(4=7.69%). In this study consanguinity was detected in 4 cases(7.69%). Preterm low birth weight neonates(32= 61.54%) were more affected than term(16 in numbers) and post-term neonates(4 in numbers).Conclusion: Cardiac murmur in neonate may help us to detect the underlying congenital cardiac diseases. But these are most difficult to diagnose during neonatal period because they remain asymptomatic in most cases. So, we should always examine the precordium of neonates to detect murmur and help to diagnosethe suspected congenital cardiac defect clinically and investigate it especially by echocardiography during neonatal period.