Two-Dimensional and Doppler trans-thoracic echocardiographic patterns of suspected pediatric heart diseases at Tibebe--Ghion specialized Teaching Hospital and Adinas General Hospital, Bahir Dar, North-west Ethiopia:-An experience from an LMIC.

BACKGROUND: Transthoracic Echocardiography is the first-line, non-invasive, and accessible imaging modality to evaluate heart disease anatomy, physiology, and hemodynamics. We aim to describe the trans-thoracic echocardiography pattern of pediatric heart diseases and reasons for referral in children referred to Bahir Dar University Tibebe-Ghion Hospital and Adinas General Hospital.

METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study of the archived Transthoracic, Two Dimensional, and Doppler Echocardiography assessments of children from birth to fifteen years of age performed between June 2019 to May 2023 was done. Data were collected retrospectively from February 01, 2023 -May 31, 2023. Categorical variables like gender, referral reasons for echocardiography, and patterns of pediatric heart lesions were analyzed in the form of proportions and presented in tables and figures. Discrete variables including age were summarized as means (SD) and medians(IQR).

RESULTS: Out of 3,647 Children enrolled; 1,917 (52.6%) were males and 1,730 (47.4%) were females. The median (IQR) age of children enrolled was 24 months (5 to 96). Cardiac murmur (33%) was the most common reason for echocardiography followed by, Respiratory Distress (18%), Syndromic Child (15%), easy fatigability/ Diaphoresis (14.3%), congestive heart failure (14%), and rheumatic fever (13.2%). Congenital heart defect (CHD) accounts for 70% of all heart diseases, followed by rheumatic heart disease (21%). Isolated ventricular septal defect(VSD) was the most common CHD (21%) followed by isolated Patent ductus arteriosus (15%), isolated atrial septal defect (10%), Isolated atrioventricular septal defect (6%) and isolated pulmonary stenosis (5%). Cyanotic CHD accounts for 11.5% of all heart diseases. Tetralogy of Fallot (30%), d-TGA (20%), and double outlet right ventricle (19%) were the most common cyanotic CHDs.

CONCLUSIONS: In our study, congenital heart lesions are the most common diagnosis and cardiac murmurs are the most common presenting reasons for echocardiography evaluation.