Cardiovascular Journal of Africa: Vol 26 No 4 (July/August 2015)

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CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Volume 26, No 4, July/August 2015 AFRICA e1
Cardiovascular Topics
The prevalence of symptomatic infantile heart disease at
Louga Regional Hospital, Senegal
Georges Antoine Bazolo Ba Ngouala, Désiré Alain Affangla, Mohamed Leye, Abdoul Kane
Abstract
The management of congenital or acquired infantile heart
diseases in sub-Saharan African countries still presents prob-
lems, particularly with diagnosis and access to surgical
treatment. Our objectives were to describe the heart diseases
observed in the paediatric setting of the Louga Regional
Hospital (LRH) and report their short-term evolution.
In the study period from 1 July 2009 to 31 December
2012, 82 children out of 18 815 presented with heart disease,
which was a prevalence of 4.3/1 000. There was a female
predominance, with a ratio of 1.2. The most frequent
presenting conditions were dyspnoea at 47.5%, followed by
heart murmurs at 35.3%, and congestive heart failure at
13.4%. Congenital heart diseases were the most frequent,
representing 69.5% of the cases, followed by acquired heart
diseases at 29.3%, and mixed-type cases at 1.2%. The most
frequently encountered congenital heart diseases were
ventricular septal defect (24.4%), followed by atrioventricular
septal defect (12.2%), tetralogy of Fallot (9.8%) and patent
ductus arteriosus (7.3%). Acquired heart disease was repre-
sented by rheumatic heart disease, found in 25.6% of the
cases, and tuberculous pericarditis in 3.7%. The mortality
rate was high, with 20 children dying (24.4%) during the study
period. Only 13 out of 82 patients (15.9%) were operable and
surgery was carried out in France, courtesy of the association
Humanitarian Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque.
Infantile heart diseases were therefore not very frequent
in the paediatric unit of Louga Regional Hospital. However,
congenital heart disease was more frequent than acquired
heart disease, with a high mortality rate. Access to surgery
remains limited.
Keywords: congenital heart disease, acquired heart disease,
cardiac surgery, humanitarian association, Africa
Submitted 8/5/14, accepted 16/3/15
Cardiovasc J Afr 2015; 26: e1–e5
DOI: 10.5830/CVJA-2015-031
Prevalence des cardiopathies infantiles symptomatiques
au Centre Hospitalier Régional de Louga, Senegal
Georges Antoine Bazolo Ba Ngouala, Désiré Alain Affangla, Mohamed Leye, Abdoul Kane
Department of Paediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Régional de
Louga, Louga, Sénégal
Georges Antoine Bazolo Ba Ngouala, MD,
Department of Cardiology, Hôpital Saint Jean de Dieu,
Thiès, Sénégal
Désiré Alain Affangla, MD
Department of Medicine, Hôpital Barthimée, Thiès, Sénégal
Mohamed Leye, MD
Department of Cardiology, Hôpital Général Grand Yoff,
Dakar, Sénégal
Abdoul Kane, MD
Service de pédiatrie, Centre Hospitalier Régional de
Louga, Louga, Sénégal
Georges Antoine Bazolo Ba Ngouala, MD,
Service de cardiologie, Hôpital Saint Jean de Dieu, Thiès,
Sénégal
Désiré Alain Affangla, MD
Service de médecine, Hôpital Barthimée, Thiès, Sénégal
Mohamed Leye, MD
Service de cardiologie, Hôpital Général Grand Yoff, Dakar,
Sénégal
Abdoul Kane, MD