Introduction:Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are an important cause of mortality and morbidity in children representing a major global health burden. It is thus important to determine their prevalence and spectrum and identify risk factors associated with the development of heart defects.Materials and Methods:A case-control study was carried out in the Department of Pediatrics and Center of Cardiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, from February 2014 to August 2015. All patients referred with complaints or clinical examination suggestive of CHDs were further evaluated with echocardiography. On Echocardiography, patients having CHDs were included as cases and those having a normal echocardiographic study were included as controls. Healthy controls were also included. 400 cases and 400 controls were thus identified; preterms having patent ductus arteriosus and patent foramen ovale and those with acquired heart defects were excluded. Risk factors among cases and controls were further studied.Results:Acyanotic heart defects were 290 (72.50%) of the total heart defects, whereas the contribution of cyanotic heart defects was 110 (27.50%). Out of all CHDs, ventricular septal defect was the most common lesion with contribution of 152 (38%) cases, whereas among the cyanotic heart defects, Tetralogy of Fallot was the most common lesion (18% of total cases). Out of the total 400 cases, 261 were males (65.25%). On univariate analysis, paternal age (odds ratio, OR, 2.01), bad obstetric history (OR, 2.65), antenatal febrile illness (OR, 4.12), and advanced maternal age (OR, 3.28) were found to increase the risk of CHD whereas intake of multivitamin (OR, 3.02) was found to be protective. The risk factors were further analyzed with multivariate logistic regression analysis and all the above factors were found to be significantly associated.Conclusion:We noted that the profile of CHD in our population was similar to the published literature although many were missed during infancy and detected later in life. Several antenatal factors were found to be associated with the incidence of congenital heart disease emphasizing the need to prioritize antenatal care and counseling to pregnant mothers along with good maternal nutrition and folic acid supplementation.

Objectives To determine the prevalence and correlates of elevated blood lead level in children (6-144 months) of Aligarh. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Venous blood was obtained for lead estimation and a structured questionnaire was filled. Results A total of 260 children were enrolled. The prevalence of elevated blood lead level was 44.2%, seen mostly in children below 5 years of age. Old and deteriorating wall paints at home was found to be significantly associated with elevated levels. Conclusions Lead-based house paints are potential source of lead exposure. Meticulous renovation and painting of the walls with safe paints is desirable.

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Neural tube defects are a group of congenital anomalies of brain development that carry a significant risk of morbidity and mortality. Anencephaly is a serious form of this defect with a very poor prognosis. It can present in three forms – meroanencephaly, holoanencephaly, and craniorachischisis. Meroanencephaly is considered to be the classic form of anencephaly. It manifests as a lack of cranial vault bones and exposed dorsal neural tissue resulting from defective neural tube closure in the very early period of gestation. Antenatally, the diagnosis may be suggested by ultrasound examination and by elevated maternal alpha-fetoprotein level. Here, we describe a case of meroanencephaly who was discharged from the hospital in fair condition despite the life-threatening anomaly.