Incidence of congenital heart diseases in Chinese children with non-syndromic congenital blepharoptosis: a prospective observational study of 1053 patients.

Abstract

Congenital blepharoptosis (CBP) may be part of a large spectrum of birth defects presenting with other ocular or systemic conditions. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of congenital heart diseases (CHD) in CBP children not associated with specific syndromes. A total of 1053 Chinese children diagnosed with non-syndromic CBP were consecutively enrolled and their cardiac structure was evaluated by echocardiography. Forty children were identified with CHD. Twenty-four children had one type of structural malformation (simple CHD). Sixteen children had two or more types of structural malformation (complex CHD). CHD and complex CHD were more prevalent in patients with severe or bilateral ptosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that presence of severe ptosis and bilateral ptosis was independently associated with CHD occurrence. We found an increased frequency of CHD in CBP children, suggesting a clinical need for routine echocardiography evaluation in CBP, especially in children with severe or bilateral ptosis.