Abstract
Background and Objectives: Esophageal atresia is one of the most common congenital anomalies. Coincident of anomalies in organs other than esophagus such as the heart is a common finding in these patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of various types of CHD in patients with esophageal atresia. Moreover, the influence of the coexistence of CHD and esophageal atresia on the prognosis of the operations of these patients was assessed.
Materials and Methods: Patients with esophageal atresia who were admitted to pediatric surgery ward of Tabriz Children’s Hospital Iran from 1998 to 2003 were consecutively enrolled . Necessary data including age, gender, weight, echocardiographical findings and final outcome of patients were extracted and analyzed
Results: 139 patients with esophageal atresia underwent cardiologic examinations during the study. Among these patients, 60 did not have any CHD and 79 did. There were 8 deaths (13.3%) in patients without CHD, and 26 deaths (32.9%) in patients with CHD . This difference was statistically significant
(p = 0.008). In patients with CHD, the highest mortality rate (66.6%) was seen in subjects who had cyanosis and pulmonary hypertension (PH), while the lowest rate (14.2%) was seen in subjects who had neither cyanosis nor PH.
Conclusion: CHD has a high prevalence rate among neonates with esophageal atresia. In addition, the presence of cyanosis or PH could affect the prognosis of the operation. Thus, cardiologic assessment is necessary for all neonates with esophageal atresia.