Pattern of congenital heart disease in Southern Yemeni children referred for echocardiography

Objectives: To study the distribution of age, gender, and the relative frequency of congenital heart defects at the time of the diagnosis in Southern Yemeni children. Methods: This retrospective study focused on echocardiographic findings of 393 symptomatic children affected by congenital heart disease. It was conducted in the Echocardiography Department of a referral hospital for Aden city and surrounding governorates, Yemen, from January 2001 to December 2005. Results: Out of 987 referred children, congenital heart defects were detected in 393 (39.8%); mean age was 3.45 +/- 4 years; of them, 48% males and 52% females. They were 85% non-cyanotic and 15% cyanotic. Patients comprised neonates, 5 (1.3%); infants under one year, 156 (39.7%), and children more than one year, 232 (59%). Most cyanotic patients (66%) presented during their first year of life, but only 8.5% were neonates. Most non-cyanotic (64%) presented after their first year (mean age 3.9 years), none of them were neonates. The most frequent defects were: ventricular septal defect (26.5%), pulmonary stenosis (17.6%), patent ductus arteriosus (17.3%), and atrial septal defect (15.8%). Tetralogy of Fallot (8.9%) and transposition of great vessels (3.1%) were the most frequent cyanotic defects. Conclusion: The pattern of congenital heart diseases in Southern Yemen, is characterized by simple, potentially correctable heart defects, under-representation of cyanotic, and absence of critical defects that provokes high mortality during infancy.