| الوصف: |
Background: Severe or critical congenital heart defects (CHDs) are 35% of those detected only after birth. The aim of the study was to measure the incidence of these CHDs, identify their clinical symptoms, and determine individual risk periods for CHD manifestation. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted from 2009 to 2018 in a population of 175,153 live births. Occurrence of the first symptoms of CHD was noted as early neonatal (0–7 days), late neonatal (8–28 days), in early infancy (1–6 months), or in late infancy (6–12 months). The first symptom for which the child was referred to a pediatric cardiologist was defined as a symptom of CHD. Results : There were 598 severe CHDs diagnosed (3.3 cases/1000), and 70% were isolated anomalies. A concomitant genetic disorder was diagnosed in 20%, and extracardiac pathology with a normal karyotype was present in 10%. Of the total, 53% of CHDs were detected prenatally and excluded. The remaining 47% developed CHD symptoms postnatally. Of these, 74% were diagnosed as early neonates, 16% as late neonates, and 10% as infants. Defects requiring repeated operations manifested significantly earlier than those with requiring one primary correction. The most common symptoms leading to the diagnosis of CHD were heart murmur and cyanosis. Conclusions : Despite the effectiveness of prenatal diagnosis, some children will be born with undiagnosed major heart defects. Assessment of symptoms and early detection of the defect is crucial. |