Childhood acquired heart diseases in Jos, north central Nigeria

Abstract

Background:The patterns of childhood acquired heart diseases (AHD) vary in different parts of the world and may evolve over time. We aimed to compare the pattern of childhood AHD in our institution to the historical and contemporary patterns in other parts of the country, and to highlight possible regional differences and changes in trend.Materials and Methods:Pediatric echocardiography records spanning a period of 10 years were reviewed. Echocardiography records of children with echocardiographic or irrefutable clinical diagnoses of AHD were identified and relevant data extracted from their records.Results:One hundred and seventy five children were diagnosed with AHD during the period, including seven that had coexisting congenital heart disease (CHD). They were aged 4 weeks to 18 years (mean 9.84΁4.5 years) and comprised 80 (45.7%) males and 95 (54.3%) females. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) was the cause of the AHD in 101 (58.0%) children, followed by dilated cardiomyopathy (33 cases, 18.9%) which was the most frequent AHD in younger (under 5 years) children. Other AHD encountered were cor pulmonale in 16 (9.1%), pericardial disease in 15 (8.6%), infective endocarditis in 8 (4.6%) and aortic aneurysms in 2 (1.1%) children. Only one case each of endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) and Kawasaki Disease were seen during the period.Conclusions:The majority of childhood acquired heart diseases in our environment are still of infectious aeitology, with RHD remaining the most frequent, particularly in older children. Community-based screening and multicenter collaborative studies will help to better describe the pattern of AHD in our country. More vigorous pursuit of the Millennium development goals will contribute to reducing the burden of childhood acquired heart diseases in the country.

Clinical Profile and Management in Children with Rheumatic Heart Disease in a Tertiary Cardiac Care Center of Nepal

“…This is consistent with the result from Nigeria where the mean age of children with RHD was recorded to be 10.8 ± 3.2 years. 10 Females were slightly more affected in this study with male to female ratio of 0.9:1 which is similar to studies done in different parts of the world. 11 Further we have observed that girls with RHD are slightly younger than boys, similar to observation made by Shrestha et al where RHD was commoner in girls and affecting them at a younger age.…”

Echocardiographic evaluation of normal adult left Ventricular geometry in a Nigerian population.

“…This agrees with findings from other similar studies which reported that indexing echocardiographic parameters to BSA produces more reliable data [2,6]. The study by [10] described only the profile of cardiomyopathy in Nigeria among children in Jos Northern part of Nigeria. Another study by [9] in western Nigeria also described only the profile of cardiomyopathy in Nigeria among children in the region.…”

Pattern of acquired heart diseases among children seen in Sokoto, North‑Western Nigeria

“…[7,24] Female preponderance was also observed among the study patients with RHD, which is consistent with a previous study in Jos, North-Central Nigeria. [2] In contrast, DCM was most prevalent among under-five children whereas children with EMF and PE were all above the age of 10 years. A recent study by Bode-Thomas et al [2] has similarly observed that DCM was commoner among children below the age of 5-year and RHD was most prevalent in older children above 5-year.…”

“…Though known to have global distribution, their relative burden and pattern of distribution vary between regions across the world and even within a particular geographical area. [1,2] In developed countries, for example, Kawasaki disease (KD) is recognized as the leading cause of AHD in children; whereas preventable conditions such as rheumatic heart diseases (RHDs), endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF), tuberculous pericarditis and other infections-related AHDs are quite prevalent in many developing countries. [3] This is due to the endemic poverty, widespread malnutrition, poor living conditions, low immunization coverage for tuberculosis and worsening HIV pandemic in these countries.…”