Congenital heart diseases in a reference service: clinical evolution and associated illnesses.
BACKGROUND
Several factors, which include prenatal diagnosis and availability of new therapeutic procedures, have contributed to change the profile of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Knowing these changes is important to a better health care.


OBJECTIVE
Description of profile of patients with CHD in a reference service in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.


METHODS
It is a cross-sectional study including 684 patients with CHD in a service of pediatric cardiology from January 2007 to May 2008. We interviewed the patients (and/or their parents) and examined these patients (congenital malformations, anthropometric measures). Moreover, their charts were reviewed in order to detail heart diseases, procedures and echocardiography.


RESULTS
Patients were from 16 days to 66 years old, 51.8% were female, and 93.7% were Caucasian. The mean age at diagnosis was 15.8 +/- 46.8 months. Ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus and Tetralogy of Fallot were the most prevalent CHD. 59.1% of examined patients, whose average age was 44.3 +/- 71.2 months, have been undergoing therapeutic procedures; 30.4% had congenital extracardiac malformations; and 12 patients had genetic syndrome. Regarding development, 46.6% had low weight and height gain, and 13.7% had neuropsychomotor delay. Furthermore, 18.4% had family history of congenital heart disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Neuropsychomotor delay and low weight and height gain may be related to CHD. Establishing a profile of patients with CHD, who were treated at an institution of reference, may function as a basis in which health care of this population can be planed appropriately.
Huber
Janaína
J
Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul, Fundação Universitária de Cardiologia, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil.
Peres
Vivian Catarino
VC
Santos
Tiago Jeronimo dos
TJ
Beltrão
Lauro da Fontoura
Lda F
Baumont
Angélica Cerveira de
AC
Cañedo
Andrés Delgado
AD
Schaan
Beatriz D'Agord
BD
Pellanda
Lucia Campos
LC
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult