Congenital Heart Malformations in Newborn Babies with Low Birth Weight.

UNLABELLED Congenital heart malformations represent a public health problem, holding a significant percentage of the total of heart diseases. Beside the elevated frequency of the malformations, we also notice their occurrence in newborn babies with low birth weight, increasing, thus, the risk of complications and late therapeutic approach. The goal of the study was to highlight the general and particular aspects of cardiovascular malformations epidemiology in newborn babies with low weight at birth, the correlation of the malformations with implied genetic and environmental factors, assessing the complications and their procedures on the therapeutic management. MATERIAL AND METHODS Our study was performed on a group of 271 patients, hospitalized in the Department of Pediatric Cardiology of "Sf. Maria" Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children of Iasi, during January 2011-December 2013. The patients were assessed based on anamnesis, clinical, biological and imagistic exam. RESULTS The study lot was divided according to the type of the structural defect: 95% of the patients were diagnosed with non-cyanogenic congenital heart malformations and 5% with cyanogenic congenital heart malformations. Regarding the patient's origin background, we notice an elevated frequency of the rural environment (71%). The incidence of the malformations was high in premature low birth weight (48%), followed by premature very low birth weight (22%). In evolution, congenital heart malformations often get more complicated heart failure, arterial hypertension and respiratory infections being most often met. Mortality was maximum in the first year of life, a third of the cases being associated with chromosomal malformations. CONCLUSIONS Congenital heart malformations in newborn patients with low weight at birth represented an elevated percentage of 44.13% of the total of the cases hospitalized for cardiovascular diseases from the Department of Pediatric Cardiology of Iasi. Many cases were associated with other congenital malformations or different complications, being necessary an interdisciplinary collaboration to adequately monitor the anatom5ical and functional parameters and to ensure a somatic and mental development as normal as possible.