WEDNESDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- More children may have undiagnosed congenital cardiovascular disease (CCVD) than previously thought, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's meeting in New Orleans. The researchers detected 12 cases of CCVD per 1,000 school-aged children tested with echocardiography.
Between 2001 and 2004, Shuping Ge, M.D., of Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, and colleagues screened 186,213 primary and junior high school-aged children in Taiwan using echocardiography and portable two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE). Patients showing evidence of CCVD, and especially of congenital vascular ring and sling abnormality, were referred for a more in-depth follow-up including 2DE, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging or angiography.
Of 2,319 cases of CCVD (overall incidence 12/1,000), there were four cases of complex congenital heart disease, 618 cases of patent foramen ovale, 213 cases of patent ductus arteriosus, and 180 atrial septal defects. The largest group of CCVD was congenital vascular ring and sling abnormality, with 1,115 cases (6/1000), including 992 cases of left aortic arch with aberrant right subclavian artery.
"CCVDs, when congenital vascular ring and sling abnormalities are included, have a higher prevalence in school-aged children than indicated in the literature," the authors write. "Awareness and cost-effective screening strategies are necessary for timely diagnosis and treatment of congenital vascular ring and sling abnormalities."
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