High prevalence and high spontaneous closure rates of muscular VSD

High prevalence and high spontaneous closure rates of muscular VSD

High prevalence and high spontaneous closure rates of muscular ventricular septal defect has been noted in neonates. The study screened over one thousand consecutive neonates by color Doppler echocardiography and found a prevalence of 53.2 muscular VSD (trabecular VSD) per thousand live births, which is much higher than what is usually reported (0.3 to 3.3 per thousand live births). Six of the neonates had multiple VSD (five with two and one with at least three ventricular septal defects).

Only six of the neonates had a systolic murmur, meaning that the rest were clinically silent and was detected only because of the echocardiographic screening. 76.8 percent were detectable only by color Doppler. The VSD sizes ranged from one to five millimeters. Nearly ninety percent of the defects closed spontaneously in one to ten months of follow up.

Reference

1. Roguin N, Du ZD, Barak M, Nasser N, Hershkowitz S, Milgram E. High prevalence of muscular ventricular septal defect in neonates. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1995 Nov 15;26(6):1545-8. doi: 10.1016/0735-1097(95)00358-4. PMID: 7594083.