Analysis of children with congenital heart defects hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infections.

Objective: To analyze children of congenital heart defect hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Study Design: Cohort study. Setting: Department of Pediatrics, Rai Medical College Teaching Hospital, Sargodha Pakistan. Period: July 2021 to June 2022. Material & Methods: Echocardiography confirmed known CHD cases of both genders aged 1 month to 10 years and hospitalized with LRTI were included. Demographic and clinical data were noted while relevant radiological examination and bacterial culture / respiratory virus panel from nasopharayngeal swabs examined. Types of CHD (acyanotic or cyanotic), types of bacterial causative agents and outcomes in terms of duration of hospitalization (days) and mortality or discharged were noted. Results: In a total of 63 children, 34 (54.0%) were male. The mean age was 1.56±1.42 years while 46 (73.0%) children were aged below 1 year. Assessment of causative agents revealed that 9 (14.3%) had viral involvement, 8 (12.7%) bacterial agents. Majority of the children, 44 (69.8%) had acyanotic CHD while remaining 19 (30.2%) had cyanotic CHD. Need for pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission was noted in 22 (34.9%). Although, need for PICU stay was more among children with acyanotic CHD when compared to cyanotic CHD, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (40.9% vs. 21.1%, p=0.1292). Likewise, duration of hospitalization was relatively more among children with acyanotic CHD when compared to children with cyanotic CHD but the difference did not reach statistical significance (17.65±8.21 vs. 14.3±6.84, p=0.1243). Conclusion: Majority of the children with CHD hospitalized with LRTI were below 1 year of age. Acyanotic CHD was the most common CHD type. Mortality was relatively low and most of the children with CHD hospitalized with LRTI were treated and discharged successfully.