Congenital heart disease in Nigeria. Clinical and necropsy study of 260 cases

Abstract

This study of 260 combined necropsy and clinical cases of congenital heart defect revealed that the various types of defects occur in the same proportions in Africans as in non Africans. The frequency of associated noncardiac malformations, the cause of death, and sex distribution are similar to those described in non Africans. Of the possible etiological factors, there was evidence of a causal relation between maternal rubella infection and persistent ductus arteriosus. There was, however, no such evidence in respect to abnormal hemoglobins, maternal age, and birth rank.