title: [Long term follow-up of 799 children with isolated ventricular septal defects].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated long-term follow-up results and prognosis of pediatric patients with isolated ventricular septal defects (VSD).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 799 patients (368 girls, 431 boys; mean age at diagnosis 24.3±37.4 months; median 6 months) who were monitored by the pediatric cardiology department for VSD. The mean follow-up period was 32.8±30.3 months (median 20 months).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The VSDs were classified as perimembranous (n=610, 76.4%), muscular (n=171, 21.4%), doubly committed subarterial (n=10, 1.3%), and multiple (n=8, 1%). Spontaneous closure rates were 42.7%, 13.1%, and 25% in muscular, perimembranous, and multiple VSDs, respectively, which corresponded to a mean age of 18.6±19.9 months (median 12 months) in muscular and 30.2±33.7 months (median 14.5 months) in perimembranous VSDs. Before 2 years of age, 78.1% of muscular and 58.6% of perimembranous VSDs underwent spontaneous closure. Of 256 defects (32%) that required surgical closure, 91.4% were of perimembranous location. The mean age at surgery was 38.8±49.1 months (median 11 months) for muscular, and 43.7±40.9 months (median 24 months) for perimembranous defects. During the follow-up period, the following complications were noted: aortic valve prolapse (0.7%), aortic regurgitation (0.6%), left ventricle-to-right atrium shunt (2.6%), subaortic ridge (3.7%), and infundibular stenosis (1.2%). Aortic regurgitation developed in eight patients (3.7%) after surgical closure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data on the natural course and prognosis of VSDs may be of relevance with respect to patients' age, defect type, and complications encountered in the follow-up period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey. serdem@cu.edu.tr
authors.forename: Sevcan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erdem
authors.forename: Nazan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozbarlas
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Küçükosmanoğlu
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Poyrazoğlu
authors.forename: Orhan Kemal
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Salih
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology