FREQUENCY OF CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS (CHD) AND ITS TYPES IN INFANTS OF DIABETIC MOTHERS

Abstract

Introduction: Many studies have proven that offspring of diabetic mothers have a fivefold incidence of congenital malformations compared to pregnancies in the general healthy population. In the mid 1980’s the United Kingdom, the Diabetes Pregnancy Survey reported the presence of major congenital malformations, of which congenital heart disease (CHD) constituted a significant element of them. Further CHD are the most important single causes of perinatal mortality amongst the offspring of diabetic mothers. Objectives: To determine the frequency of congenital heart defects (CHD) and its types in infants of diabetic mothers.Materials & Methodology:This cross-sectional study was done in the Department of Pediatric Medicine, DHQ Hospital, Sahiwal during  6th July 2020 to 5th January 2021.A total of 100 neonates born to diabetic mother of age 18-45 years were included. Pre-term neonates (<37weeks), syndromic baby with dysmorphic features on clinical examination were excluded. After taking informed consent from patient’s parents, all neonates were assessed for presence or absence of any congenital heart defect and its types.Results: Maternal age range in this study was from 18 to 45 years with mean age of 28.01 ± 4.73 years. Majority of the patients 69 (69.0%) were between 18-30 years. Mean gestational age was 38.33 ± 1.28 weeks. Mean weight of baby was 3.22 ± 0.49 kg. Out of the 100 patients, 58 (58.0%) were male and 42 (42.0%) were females with male to female ratio of 1.5:1. In this study, I have found the frequency of congenital heart disease in infants of diabetic mother as 63 (63.0%).Conclusion: This study has shown that the frequency of congenital heart disease in neonates born to diabetic mothers is quite high.