Pattern and Outcome of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu: A Setting of West African Sub-region

Abstract

Abstract Background: Paediatric cardiac surgery is highly challenging, especially in resource-limited economy like ours. The burden of heart diseases in children is huge and increasing thus, the need to audit the bold step resumed by our center in the last 5 years. Objective: To determine the pattern and outcome of Paediatric open heart surgeries done in a tertiary hospital of West African sub-region. Methodology: Descriptive, cross-sectional study where medical records of all Paediatric Open Heart Surgeries done in our centre from March 2013 to July 2018 (five year period) were reviewed. We looked at pre-operative and post-operative outcome measures and compared our outcome variables with international best practices outcome. Results: A total of 73 children had open heart surgery within the above period. Age group Ranged from infants to adolescents with almost equal sex distribution. The mean parental age was 37 years. About 20 different procedures were done with more of ventricular septal defect closure and total correction of tetralogy of Fallot. Combined two or three procedures in a patient were done in 33 (45.21%) patients. The mean bypass time was 70.98 min, mean duration on ventilator 2.4 days, mean duration on inotropes 5.5 days, and mean duration of intensive care unit stay was 7.53 days. Blood transfusion was given in 38 (52.08%) patients. Discharge in good condition in 89.04% patients, whereas 6.9% had mortality. Conclusion: Despite the efforts of our foreign collaborators, there is still a yearning need for intersectoral involvement to enshrine routine open heart surgery and cardiac intervention services by training and retraining of local capacity.