Congenital heart disease in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria: a four-year prospective echocardiographic analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Echocardiographic evaluation remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of structural cardiac disease. No previous prospective studies have been done on the prevalence of congenital heart disease (CHD) in the Niger Delta area. This study was done to determine the frequency and pattern of congenital heart disease, using echocardiography as a diagnostic tool.

METHODS: All patients presenting to the Paediatric Cardiology clinics of two centres, the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and the Paediatric Care Hospital between April 2009 and March 2013, were recruited and all had echocardiography performed.

RESULTS: Prevalence of CHD in this study was 14.4 per 1 000 children; 277 (83.4%) of the patients had acyanotic CHD and 55 (16.6%) had cyanotic CHD. Ventricular septal defect and tetralogy of Fallot were the commonest acyanotic and cyanotic heart defects, respectively.

CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of CHD in this study is the highest in the country and Africa, and may be attributable to the increased oil spillage and gas flaring from petroleum exploitation in this region.