Referral Patterns to a Pediatric Tertiary Cardiac Unit

Abstract

Congenital Birth Defects (CBD) are the leading causes of infant mortality in developed countries. Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) form the major proportion of the CBD. It is estimated that they contribute almost one-half of the deaths due to CBD, both as isolated lesions and as part of other multiple CBD 1. This prevalence of CHD however, remains static despite modern techniques and technology to improve the evaluation of these cases 2. New referrals to tertiary cardiac centers had and continued to increase dramatically despite the static prevalence of CHD 3. Reports reveal that between 25% to 100% of referrals have normal hearts 3,4,5. The continued increase in referrals is due to numerous factors, which include primary care physician's reluctance to diagnose normality without echocardiography and parental demands of echocardiography to confirm normality. This results in extensive usage of societal and personal resources. The cost involved to society is immense and continue to rise.