Congenital Heart Defects in Paediatric Patients with Congenital Urogenital Abnormalities: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) are the most significant co-morbidity in children with congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract, according to past research. The fundamental cause is a combination of certain genetic factors and environmental influences on foetal development. Aim: To investigate the incidence of CHD in congenital urogenital abnormalities in paediatric patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India, from June 2023 to December 2023 on 110 patients with congenital urogenital abnormalities undergoing elective surgical procedures to find the incidence of CHDs. All routine investigations, clinical history and examination, ultrasonography, and echocardiography were done. The association of the variables that were quantitative and not normally distributed in nature was analysed using the Mann-Whitney’s Test, and variables that were quantitative and normally distributed in nature were analysed using an independent t-test. The association of variables which were qualitative in nature was analysed using the Fischer’s-exact test. Results: The maternal demographic characteristics that were included were maternal age, gestational age, parity, and consanguinity of marriage. The mean maternal age was 25.65±2.79 years. The mean gestational age was 38.55±1.27 weeks. Consanguinity of marriage was observed in four out of 110 cases. Out of 110 cases, the mean primigravida was 37.27%, gravida 2 was 46.36%, gravida 3 was 13.4%, and gravida 4 was 2.73%. The demographic characteristics of children with urogenital anomalies showed a female-to-male ratio of 50:60. Clinically, a murmur was observed in 15% of cases, and other anomalies were detected in two cases. Out of the total 110 patients with urogenital abnormalities, 15 patients had CHD. Among the 15 cases, four cases were Atrial Septal Defects (ASD), six cases were Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), and five cases were Ventricular Septal Defects (VSD). The total incidence of CHDs was 13.6%. Conclusion: Therefore, authors infered that the incidence of CHD was 13.6% in paediatric patients with congenital urogenital abnormalities. Children with congenital urogenital abnormalities need to be investigated with routine echocardiography. Thus, early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of CHDs shall not only improve the surgical outcome of congenital urogenital anomalies but also improve the long-term outcome of this highrisk patient population.