Author:
Khushu Abha,Kelsall Anthony W.,Usher-Smith Juliet A.
Abstract
AbstractBackgroundHeart murmurs are common in children. The majority are detected incidentally, and congenital heart disease is rare. There are no published United Kingdom guidelines for management of children with murmurs in primary care. Common practice is to refer all children for specialist assessment.AimTo review outcomes of children with heart murmurs who were referred by general practitioners to a clinic conducted by a paediatrician with expertise in cardiology.Design and settingA retrospective review of children referred by general practitioners to a paediatrician with expertise in cardiology.MethodsHospital records of all children under 17 years of age who attended the clinic during 2011 were reviewed. We excluded children previously seen by any cardiology service.ResultsThere were 313 new primary care referrals, with complete records available for 310 children. Of them, 186 (60%) were referred with a murmur: 154 for an asymptomatic murmur alone, and 32 for a murmur plus additional symptoms or family history of congenital heart disease. All underwent echocardiography. Of the patients, 38 (20%) had congenital heart disease. Younger children were more likely to have congenital heart disease. There was no difference between rates of congenital heart disease in children with or without symptoms or a family history.ConclusionThe finding that a large proportion of children referred by general practitioners with asymptomatic heart murmurs have congenital heart disease supports current referral practice on clinical grounds.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine,General Medicine,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Cited by
11 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献