Tricuspid Atresia: A Rare Cause of Cyanosis among Nigerian Children

Background and Objective: There is a dearth of literature on tricuspid atresia among African people. The current study aims to document the clinical profile and prevalence of tricuspid atresia amongst children in a tertiary hospital in South Western Nigeria.

Methods: A prospective review of all consecutive cases of tricuspid atresia diagnosed by echocardiography at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) between January 2007 and December 2015. The hospital is located in South Western Nigeria. The subjects were all children with an echocardiographic diagnosis of tricuspid atresia made at the study center. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Level of significance set at p< 0.05.

Results: The prevalence of tricuspid atresia in the study population was 4.6 per 100,000 population of children who presented at the study center during the study period. The prevalence of tricuspid atresia amongst the children with congenital heart disease was 1.3% while its prevalence among children with cyanotic congenital heart disease was 4.3%. Male to female ratio of 1.5:1. The most common class of tricuspid atresia found in this study was class 1C. All but one presented with cyanosis. Surgical intervention was not available in the local environment.

Conclusion: Tricuspid atresia is a rare cause of cyanosis among Nigerian Children; the prevalence of tricuspid atresia in the present hospital based study was lower than the population prevalence in developed countries. There was a male predominance and cyanosis was the most common mode of presentation. The most common class and subtype was 1C. In the sub-region, non-operated cases up to 12 years of age are also reported.