Surgical Treatment of Valvular Heart Disease in Nigeria: A 6-Year Experience

Abstract

Surgical treatment of valvular heart disease in Nigeria, the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, is adversely affected by socioeconomic factors such as poverty and ignorance. To evaluate our experience in this context, we identified all patients who underwent surgery for acquired or congenital valvular heart disease at our Nigerian center from February 2013 through January 2019. We collected data from their medical records, including patient age and sex, pathophysiologic causes and types of valvular disease, surgical treatment, and outcomes. Ninety-three patients (43 males [46.2%]; mean age, 38.9 ± 10.0 yr [range, 11–80 yr]) underwent surgical treatment of a total of 122 diseased valves, including 72 (59.0%) mitral, 26 (21.3%) aortic, 21 (17.2%) tricuspid, and 3 (2.5%) pulmonary. The most prevalent pathophysiologic cause of disease was rheumatic (87 valves [71.3%]), followed by functional (20 [16.4%]), congenital (8 [6.6%]), degenerative (5 [4.1%]), and endocarditic (2 [1.6%]). All 3 diseased pulmonary valves had annular defects associated with congenital disease. Surgical treatment included mechanical prosthetic replacement of 92 valves (75.4%), surgical repair of 29 (23.8%), and bioprosthetic replacement of 1 (0.8%). We conclude that, in Nigeria, valvular disease is mainly rheumatic, affects mostly younger to middle-aged individuals, and is usually treated with prosthetic replacement

A systematic review and meta‐analysis on outcomes of valvular heart surgery in Africa

“…Title and abstract screening of the remaining 756 papers led to further exclusion of 675 papers that did not meet our eligibility criteria. Subsequently following full text screening of the 81 papers, only 31 papers were included in the study that met our eligibility criteria 16–46 . The screening process is shown in the PRISMA flow chart in Figure 1.…”