2022-05-06T19:57:16Z //m.lakotalakes.com/oai/oai.php

oai:heighpubs.org:10.29328/journal.jccm.1001056 2019-09-26 JCCM:VOL4

Prevalence of congenital heart diseases among primary school children in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, West Africa Ujuanbi Amenawon Susan Tabansi Petronilla Nnena Otaigbe Barbara Edewele <h2>Abstract</h2> <p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are leading causes of childhood morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. Community-based studies are important in ascertaining the burden of the disease.</p> <p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The study was set out to determine the prevalence and types of CHD among primary school children in Port Harcourt Local Government Area (PHALGA) of Rivers State, Niger Delta, Nigeria.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> A total of 1,712 primary school pupils were selected by multistage sampling from twelve schools in PHALGA. A questionnaire was used to obtain information from pupil&rsquo;s parents on their child&rsquo;s biodata and symptoms suggestive of heart disease. General physical and cardiovascular system examinations were carried out on each selected pupil, following which those with symptoms and/or signs suggestive of heart disease had echocardiographic confirmation of their cardiac status.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> The 1,712 subjects were aged 5-14 (mean 8.48 &plusmn; 2.30) years. 874 (51.1%) were females while males were 838 (48.9%). The study revealed that 31 pupils had congenital heart diseases confirmed by echocardiography, giving a prevalence of 18.1 per 1,000 pupils. The commonest cardiac defects seen were acyanotic CHD in 30 (96.8%) pupils while cyanotic CHD was seen in only one (3.2%) pupil. Among the acyanotic CHD, atrial septal defects (83.9%) followed by ventricular septal defects (9.7%) were the commonest. CHD occurred with higher frequency among females (64.5%) and among the younger age group of 5-9 years (61.3%) though these were not statistically significant (p &gt; 0.005).</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Cardiac examination as part of compulsory health screening at primary school entry will help detect children with CHD, reduce delay in diagnosis for intervention, avert debilitating morbidity and assure a better quality of life.&nbsp;</p> Journal of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine - Heighten Science Publications Corporation 2019-09-26 Research Article //m.lakotalakes.com/jccm/jccm-aid1056.php en Copyright © Ujuanbi Amenawon Susan et al.