Rheumatic Heart Disease among Patients with Valvular Heart Disease Admitted to the In-patient Department of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Valvular heart disease continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality around the world, with rheumatic heart disease accounting for the bulk of cases in developing nations. The aim of this study is to find out the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease among patients with valvular heart disease admitted to the in-patient department of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December, 2018 to December, 2020 at a tertiary care centre after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review [Reference number: 395 (6-11) e2 077/078]. Patients of age ≥18 years presenting with valvular manifestations of any disease diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography were included and patients other than Nepalese nationals were excluded. Convenience sampling was done and a sample size of 327 was taken. Data were collected, entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22.0. Point estimate at a 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and percentages for binary data. Results: Among 327 patients, the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease was found to be 237 (72.47%) (67.63-77.31 at 95% Confidence Interval). Conclusions: The prevalence of rheumatic heart disease was similar to the other similar studies conducted in similar settings.

Echocardiographic Screening of Rheumatic Heart Disease: Current Concepts and Challenges

“…Several studies involving school-aged children have shown that echocardiographic scanning increases the diagnostic accuracy by 5 to 50 times compared to auscultation. 49 - 51 The prevalence of RHD in these studies was 8-57/1000. If this is calculated for the entire worldwide population, then 62-78 million people are affected by RHD globally, and 1.4 million people will die of this disease annually.…”

Rheumatic heart disease of the mitral valve alongside the papillary fibroelastoma of the aortic valve: A case report

“…One possible cause for these symptoms is AF, which can lead to intracardiac thrombus formation due to increased blood stagnation inside the atria that promotes clotting factors activity therein 7 . RHD may also be considered a potential underlying cause 8 . Infective endocarditis (IE) is another possibility, especially in cases where large vegetation is observed on cardiac valves.…”

“… 7 RHD may also be considered a potential underlying cause. 8 Infective endocarditis (IE) is another possibility, especially in cases where large vegetation is observed on cardiac valves. IE results from bacterial or fungal infections within the bloodstream that colonize damaged areas of heart valves.…”

A study of Clinical Profile and in Hospital Outcomes of patients undergoing Percutaneous Transvenous Mitral Commissurotomy at a Tertiary Care Center of Nepal

“…The prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD), which is a common cause of mitral stenosis (MS) in developing nations, was reported to be 72.47% in Nepal [ 1 ]. The closed mitral commissurotomy (CMC), a surgical procedure for treating severe mitral stenosis, was first established in the 1940s [ 2 ].…”