Özet:
A prospective clinical study was designed to establish the risk
factors, the prevalence, and the progress of congenital heart
defects in children with neural tube defects. Study included
90 children with a mean age of 13.5 ± 30.4 months. There
were 53 (59%) patients with spina bifida occulta and 37
(41%) patients with spina bifida aperta. The overall prevalence
of congenital heart disease was 27.8% (40.5% in spina
bifida aperta and 18.9% in spina bifida occulta; P = .024).
There was no statistically significant difference for maternal
age, usage of periconceptional folate, and maternal diabetes
between the patient and control groups. The authors conclude
that congenital heart defects are more common than
reported in neural tube defects, and screening echocardiograms
are warranted. This should be kept in mind especially
in patients requiring minor or major surgical procedures.
Furthermore, routine obstetric examination and therefore
the use of periconceptional folic acid during pregnancy is
still lacking in our country.
