Congenital Heart Disease in Rural Senegal: A Retrospective Study of 79 Patients

Introduction: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a malformation of the heart present at birth and resulting from a developmental defect during embryonic life. The aim was to assess CHD in rural areas. Methodology: This is a retrospective study conducted over a period of 2 years in rural Senegal. Results: During the study period, we collected 79 patients with CHD, representing a hospital prevalence of 2.6%. The mean age at diagnosis was 17.05 months and the sex ratio was 1.19. The mean birth weight was 2826 g. The main comorbidities were anaemia (54.43%) and respiratory infections 38 cases (48.10%). Respiratory distress was the most common sign with 98.73%. Radiological cardiomegaly was noted in 86.7%. The most frequent CHD were interventricular septal defect (IVD) 21.51% and atrial septal defect (ASD) 8.86%. No patient was able to receive surgical treatment. Seven children died (8.86%) and 21 children were lost to follow-up (26.58%). On Doppler echocardiography, 16.45% of the patients had pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Conclusion: In light of this work, emphasis should be placed on the quality of antenatal consultations, the quality of management and the regular availability of echocardiography and a cardio-paediatrician in order to reduce morbidity and mortality.