Delayed diagnosis of critical congenital heart defects predicting risk factors and survival rate in newborns in Beijing: a retrospective study

Objective To assess the prevalence and survival rate of newborns with a delayed diagnosis of critical congenital heart defects (CCHD) in Beijing. Methods This retrospective study analysed data from births between 2010 and 2017 from the Birth Defects Monitoring Network in Beijing. Newborns with CCHD were analysed according to seven categories. Statistical analyses were used to calculate the mortality rate within the first week (days 0–6) after live birth. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of survival was performed to analyse the potential risk factors for newborn mortality. Results A total of 1 773 935 perinatal newborns were screened in Beijing and 1851 newborns were diagnosed with CCHD, showing a prevalence of 10.43 per 10 000. Among the total 1851 CCHD patients, the majority (1692 of 1851; 91.41%) were identified through prenatal diagnosis, 104 of 1851 (5.62%) were diagnosed before obstetric discharge/transfer and 55 of 1851 (2.97%) were identified through delayed diagnosis. The prevalence of CCHD in newborns was 1.96 per 10 000 births. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of survival demonstrated that gestational age at delivery was the only risk factor for death within the first week after birth. Conclusions Within the first week after birth, gestational age was the only risk factor for death in newborns with CCHD