Frequent congenital heatt diseases.
1. Big picture
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most important neonatal topics because some lesions are duct-dependent and can cause sudden collapse when the ductus arteriosus closes.
The examiner wants you to recognize three neonatal patterns:
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Cyanotic newborn Think: right-to-left shunt, mixing lesion, pulmonary outflow obstruction, transposition.
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Newborn with shock after a few days of life Think: duct-dependent systemic circulation, especially hypoplastic left heart syndrome, critical coarctation, critical aortic stenosis.
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Newborn with murmur but otherwise well Think: VSD, ASD, PDA, mild valve stenosis — but always assess oxygen saturation and femoral pulses.
Core emergency rule:
A sick cyanotic or shocked newborn may need prostaglandin E1 before the exact diagnosis is confirmed.
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