MLPA � first-tier Screening Assay in Newborns with Nonsyndromic Congenital Heart Disease

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Congenital heart disease(CHD) is the most frequent malformative pathology seen in newborns, with an incidence of 10/1000 births, and is considered a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. About one third of congenital heart disease cases are of genetic origin, particular copy number variations being described as possible nonsyndromic and syndromic congenital heart disease causes. Here, we set out to find whether the MLPA technique could be used as a first-tier screening assay in newborns with apparently nonsyndromic CHDs, and thus to genetically confirm the CHD diagnosis. The study cohort included 60 newborns diagnosed with apparently nonsyndromic congenital heart disease, recruited for a period of 18 months. MLPA analysis was performed using the SALSA MLPA P311 and P250 kits. 10 newborns (16.67%) showed known genetically relevant copy number variations, namely three patients with 22q11.21 deletion, that were diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome, and seven patients with a probable single exon 8p23.1 duplication that will be subjected to further molecular testing, in order to correctly assess their diagnosis. We can conclude that the screening of patients with apparently nonsyndromic congenital heart disease may lead to their early and correct diagnosis, and thus them benefitting from the detection of clinically relevant copy number variations using the MLPA technique.