Delayed diagnosis of Congenital Heart Diseases and associated factors in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital: cross-sectional study; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2023-12
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common malformation in newborns.
In Africa alone, 500,000 live newborns are born each year with CHD. Sub-Saharan Africa
contributes a larger portion of these numbers. Nearly one fourth of these CHDs are critical CHDs
and thus need to be diagnosed and managed timely. Time to first diagnosis of these defects
varies across countries. Delayed diagnosis is common in third world countries. The prevalence of
delayed diagnosis in Ethiopia is unknown. Knowing the magnitude of late diagnosis would help
in designing the mechanisms for early detection and possible intervention. With appropriate and
timely interventions, more than 85% of all children with CHD can survive to adulthood.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of delayed diagnosis of
congenital heart diseases and associated factors in TASH, 2023.
Methods and materials: The study was conducted in TASH at department of Pediatrics and
Child Health. A cross-sectional design was employed. The data was collected using kobotoolbox
tool and was exported to SPSS version 29 for analysis. Descriptive statistics was used to examine
participants’ socio-demographic, socioeconomic and clinical characteristics. Binary and
multivariate logistic regression analysis was utilized to assess association between variables.
Results: Over half (53.1%) of the study participants had delayed diagnosed of CHD. The
majority of patients (84.4%) with cyanotic HDs were diagnosed late. The proportion of delayed
diagnosis among acyanotic CHDs was 45.4%. The median age at diagnosis for acyanotc CHD
was 6 months IQR [1.5-24] whereas the median age at diagnosis for cyanotic was 9 months IQR [1.5-29].
The probability of delayed diagnosis of CHD was 2.34 times higher in children whose mother
did not have optimal ANC visit during pregnancy (AOR 2.34 95% CI 1.05-5.25 P=0.0.039)
Conclusions: The magnitude of delayed diagnosis of CHD was unacceptably high (53.1%). The
factors associated with delayed diagnosis were ANC visits, obstetric ultrasound, place of birth,
type of birth attendants and type of CHD. To avert delayed diagnosis of CHDs, improving
antenatal care, increasing health care workers awareness and perinatal screening are
recommended.
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Keywords
Congenital Heart Defects, Pediatrics, delayed diagnosis, Ethiopia