The Prevalence of Congenital Heart Diseases in Syndromic Children at King Khalid National Guard Hospital from 2005 to 2016

Elaf M Abduljawad; Ahad AlHarthi; Samah A AlMatrafi; Mawaddah Hussain; Aiman Shawli; Rahaf Waggass

doi:10.7759/cureus.7891

The Prevalence of Congenital Heart Diseases in Syndromic Children at King Khalid National Guard Hospital from 2005 to 2016

Cureus. 2020 Apr 29;12(4):e7891. doi: 10.7759/cureus.7891.

Authors

Elaf M Abduljawad¹, Ahad AlHarthi¹, Samah A AlMatrafi¹, Mawaddah Hussain¹, Aiman Shawli², Rahaf Waggass³

Affiliations

¹ Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, SAU.
² Pediatrics, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, SAU.
³ Pediatric Cardiology, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, SAU.

Abstract

Background Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are abnormalities that present in the heart since birth and are one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the world. CHDs are more common among children with dysmorphic syndromes. The current study aims to estimate the prevalence of many CHDs in different dysmorphic syndromes. Methods This was a retrospective chart review study conducted on all dysmorphic syndrome patients who attended genetic clinics at King Khalid National Guard Hospital in King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2016. Dysmorphic pediatric patients less than 14 years old who had genetic testing to confirm their diagnosis were included in the study. Patients who did not have any previous echocardiography were excluded. Results A total of 212 individuals (47% males and 53% females) were included. Eighty-five percent of Down syndrome patients had CHDs, and the most common CHD was an atrial septal defect (ASD) (51%). In patients with Turner syndrome, 45% of them had CHDs, and bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) (40%) was the most common defect. In DiGeorge syndrome, 81% of patients had CHDs, and ventricular septal defect (VSD) (41%) was the most common. In Williams syndrome, 83% of patients had CHDs. All patients with Noonan, Edwards, CHARGE (coloboma, heart defects, atresia choanae (also known as choanal atresia), growth retardation, genital abnormalities, and ear abnormalities), and Rubinstein-Taybi syndromes were found to have CHDs. In Patau syndrome and Joubert syndrome, 50% of patients in each had CHDs. Patients with Prader Willi syndrome had normal findings in the echocardiogram. Conclusion The highest prevalence of CHDs was found in Down syndrome. This study has a significant impact on the future of managing and directing the resources to improve the quality of life for syndromic patients. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to increase the local data in the field of CHDs in Saudi Arabia among syndromic patients.

Keywords: atrial septal defect; children; congenital heart diseases; digeorge syndrome; down syndrome; dysmorphic syndrome; patent ductus arteriosus; syndromic children; turner syndrome; ventricular septal defect.