Congenital Heart Disease and COVID-19: A Single-Center Experience

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been infecting children since December 2019 and has caused a severe epidemic and millions of deaths worldwide. COVID-19 has severe clinical effects and is more complicated to manage in patients with underlying diseases, such as congenital heart disease (CHD), past surgical operations, arrhythmia, and end-organ damage. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical course, follow-up, and treatment process of patients with CHD and COVID-19 in Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Turkey during March 2020-February 2021. Methods: This retrospective study was performed on patients with CHD and COVID-19 in the Department of Pediatrics at Inonu University Faculty of Medicine during March 2020-February 2021, selected by making full count sampling. Admission complaints, clinical findings, biochemical parameters, echocardiography results, hospitalization times, treatments, and clinical follow-up findings were retrieved from patients' files. Results: 11 patients with underlying CHD and COVID-19 were evaluated retrospectively during the study. Ten patients were hospitalized and treated due to COVID-19. Treatment of seven of these patients continued in the intensive care unit (ICU), and five were followed up under a mechanical ventilator. Two patients died during follow-up in the ICU. Conclusions: The clinical course of COVID-19 is severe, and the mortality rate is high in patients with serious diseases, such as underlying CHD. Therefore, COVID-19 in patients with CHD requires more serious and careful follow-up.