Profile of Tetralogy of Fallot at the Cardiology Clinic of Saint-Damien Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021

Abstract

Naika Paulemie Desir, Adonai Aly Isaac Julien, Richcard Alexandre, Joanne Fevry, Taina Brice and Alexandra Destin Noisette

Objective: Our work aimed to study the epidemiological and clinical aspects of Tetralogy of Fallot TOF in the cardiology unit of the Saint-Damien Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs hospital in Haiti.

Methodology: This is a retrospective study of patients aged 0 to 16 years old with Tetralogy of Fallot confirmed by echocardiography. Data were entered using an elaborated form and analyzed with Epi Info software version 7.2.2.16 and Microsoft Excel 2013.

Results: From January 2019 to December 2021, we identified 102 patients aged 0 to 16 years with TOF. A male predominance was noted with a sex ratio M/F of 1.55. The average age of discovery of our cohort was 3 years and 7 months [0-16 years; standard deviation: 9.9]. The clinical signs were dominated by a systolic murmur (91.18%) followed by cyanosis (39.22%) and dyspnea (33.33%). On echocardiography, the regular form (76.47%) associated with the severe stenosis (83.33%) was remarkable. 20.59% of patients were able to benefit from surgery and the mortality rate was 14.94%. Patients were presenting at an advanced stage where they mostly needed surgical treatment to survive.

Conclusion: This study shows that the prevalence of TOF is also high in developing countries. The heart murmur at the pulmonary focus and the cyanosis were more present on physical examination. Patients were presenting at an advanced stage where they mostly needed surgical treatment to survive. Preventive measures are needed to reduce the mortality rate.

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