Background and Objectives:Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are prone to malnutrition. This can have a significant effect on the outcome of surgery. Our objective was to determine the burden and determinant of malnutrition in children with several types of congenital heart disease (CHD).Methods:This is a descriptive cross sectional study of children attending the outpatient clinic of UNTH, Ituku – Ozalla, Enugu State, over a six year period from March 2007 to April 2014. Data analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19 (Chicago IL).Results:Forty thousand one hundred and twenty three (40,123) children attended the outpatient clinic during the study period. Of these, 50 had congenital heart disease, from which 46 were found to have various degree of malnutrition, giving a prevalence of 92% among children with congenital disease and 0.11% in the general population. Malnutrition showed significant correlation between age in years, age appropriate dietary adequacy and pulmonary hypertension. (r= 0.22, p = 0.01; r = 0.20, p = 0.02; r = 0.15, p = 0.01).Conclusion:Children with CHD develop severe malnutrition and growth failure. The significant contributing factors are mean age at presentation and age appropriate dietary adequacy.

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to determine the pattern of congenital cardiac disease among children attending UNTH, Enugu, Nigeria. The nature of these abnormalities and the outcome were also considered. The exact etiology is unknown but genetic and environmental factors tend to be implicated. The difference in the pattern obtained worldwide and few studies in Nigeria could be due to genetic, environmental, socioeconomic, or ethnic origin.MethodsA retrospective analysis of discharged cases in which a review of the cases of all children attending children outpatient clinics including cardiology clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu over a five year period (January 2007-June 2012) was undertaken. All the children presenting with cardiac anomalies were included in the study and the cases were investigated using ECG, X-ray and echocardiography studies.ResultsA total of 31,795 children attended the children outpatient clinics of the hospital over the study period. Of these, seventy one (71) had cardiac diseases. The overall prevalence of cardiac disease is 0.22%. The commonest symptoms were breathlessness, failure to thrive and cyanosis. Almost all types of congenital detects were represented, the commonest being isolated ventricular septal detect (VSD), followed by tetralogy of Fallot. One of these cardiac anomalies presented with Downs’s syndrome and another with VACTERAL association.ConclusionsThe results of this study show that 0.22% per cent of children who attended UNTH in Enugu State had congenital cardiac abnormalities and the commonest forms seen were those with VSD.

SummaryBackgroundCardiac complications contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality in children with HIV/AIDS. These rates have been under-reported in sub-Saharan African children.MethodsThis was an observational, cross-sectional Doppler echocardiographic study of ventricular systolic function, performed at a tertiary clinic on children with HIV/AIDS.ResultsLeft ventricular systolic dysfunction was present in 27.0% of the children with HIV infection and 81.2% of those with AIDS. The mean fractional shortening in the AIDS group (31.6 ± 9.5%) was significantly lower than in the HIV-infected group (35.3 ± 10.5%, p = 0.001). A significant correlation was found with CD4+ cell count and age, and these were the best predictors of left ventricular systolic dysfunction in the stepwise multiple regression analysis (r = 0.396, p = 0.038; r = –0.212, p = 0.025, respectively).ConclusionLeft ventricular systolic dysfunction is common in Nigerian children with HIV/AIDS.

Complex CHD are present in our environment. Their surgical management in our centre is being made possible by periodic visits of foreign cardiac missions.

Background:Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital heart defect that leads to shunting of blood between left and right atria. It may be asymptomatic and sometimes may present with heart failure. Surgical repair is definitive, but currently non-surgical procedure is used to close the defect.Materials and Methods:It is a retrospective study of patients who underwent transcatheter closure of ASD at Innova Heart Hospital, Hyderabad, India. Echocardiography was repeated at intervals of 24 hours, then at 1, 3 and 6 months after the procedure to assess complications. The morphological characteristics of the ASD, including its diameter, location, shape and the width of surrounding septal margins, were also evaluated.Results:From April 2007 to June 2011, 69 consecutive children (29 males, 40 females) with a median age of 9.0 years (range = 3.2–19 years) registered with diagnosis of ASD. The median weight was 31.5 kg (range = 7.5–39.0 kg). Five patients (7.2%) were young children aged 3–5 years. Forty-four (63.8%) of these children presented with symptoms of heart failure, whereas 47 (68.1%) of the cases repaired with device were large-sized ASD. The most common interventional procedures done were Searcare Heart® and Amplatzer® technique with a highest success rate obtained in 2010.Conclusions:ASD is a common congenital heart disease with a high success rate for those who undergo intervention.