Abstract:
Background: Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the singular most common congenital anomalies and account for
a significant fraction of childhood mortality and morbidity. CHD occurs in ~ 1% of livebirths globally and often
requires surgical interventions to improve quality of life and survival of patients. The prevalence and clinical
presentations of CHD within specific populations provide a clearer overview of the burden of CHD and informs
appropriate interventions. However, there is limited data on clinical presentation and occurrence of CHD in African
countries such as Ghana where most cases are either diagnosed late or missed entirely resulting in increased
mortality. In this retrospective study, we assessed the clinical presentations, associated comorbidities, and
prescription patterns of diagnosed CHD in a tertiary facility in Ghana.
Method: This retrospective study utilized data from electronic health records (EHR) from the child health clinic of the
Cape Coast Teaching Hospital - a tertiary health facility in Ghana from January 2018 to October 2019. All suspected or
provisionally diagnosed cases including those confirmed with echocardiography were included in our analysis.
Results: Over 10, 000 records were reviewed, CHD was diagnosed in 79 cases, and 51 cases had complete clinical
records including the type of CHD and clinical presentation. Male to female ratio was approximately 1:1 and 77.2% of
the diagnoses were in children below 5 years. Acyanotic congenital heart defects were most commonly diagnosed
with ventricular septal defects (VSD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) being the simplest singular CHD. Tetralogy of
Fallot, was the most common complex CHD accounting for 25.5% (13) of cases. Bronchopneumonia, upper respiratory
infections and pneumonia were the most commonly diagnosed comorbidities accounting for over 35% of non-cardiac
sequalae based on antibiotic and diuretic use.
Conclusion: Our study showed that over 75% of CHD cases were diagnosed under 5 years with VSD and TOF being
the most commonly diagnosed acyanotic and cyanotic lesions, respectively. This study presents preliminary data that
give an overview of CHD burden in Ghana that will inform future research and appropriate interventions.
