Initiating the first rheumatic heart disease clinic in Cameroon: A descriptive study.

Autor: Njedock N; Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences University of Yaoundé 1 Yaoundé Cameroon.; Friendly Heart Yaounde Cameroon., Yanwou N; Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences University of Yaoundé 1 Yaoundé Cameroon.; Friendly Heart Yaounde Cameroon., Wotol M; Friendly Heart Yaounde Cameroon.; Clinique la Reference Yaoundé Cameroon., Shu B; Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences University of Yaoundé 1 Yaoundé Cameroon.; Friendly Heart Yaounde Cameroon., Azanfack R; Friendly Heart Yaounde Cameroon.; Clinique la Reference Yaoundé Cameroon., Nkoke C; Faculty of Health Sciences University of Buea Buea Cameroon., Chelo D; Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences University of Yaoundé 1 Yaoundé Cameroon.; Friendly Heart Yaounde Cameroon.; Clinique la Reference Yaoundé Cameroon.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Health science reports [Health Sci Rep] 2023 Jul 28; Vol. 6 (8), pp. e1446. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 28 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.1446
Abstrakt: Background and Aim: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a significant cause of heart failure in sub-Saharan Africa. The causes of death from RHD are multiple, many of which can be prevented with appropriate follow-up of patients and effective secondary prophylaxis. An RHD Clinic was initiated to attempt a solution in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Over 6 months, its impact was evaluated.
Methods: Two echocardiography registers were accessed, and patients diagnosed with RHD between 2005 and 2018 were contacted. Consenting carers and patients pioneered the first RHD Clinic. Activities of the clinic comprised health education, medical visits, and benzylpenicillin G (BPG) injections. Text messages and phone calls were used to remind patients of their monthly appointments.
Results: Out of 1200 first-time cardiac ethnographies, 70 patients (5.83%) had been diagnosed with RHD. The case fatality rate of RHD was 16.67%. Twenty-three patients were successfully registered and followed-up by the clinic, 70% of whom were female. The age range was 4-22 years. Fifty-three percent had an NYHA score of 2 or more at the time of admission into the clinic. There was an increase in adherence to secondary prophylaxis with BPG from 42.9% at baseline to 87%-95% in the last 3 months.
Conclusion: Our short experience running an RHD Clinic was marked by increased treatment adherence among persons living with RHC.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
(© 2023 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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