The burden of truncus arteriosus in an Urban City in Africa: How are we fairing?

Abstract

Background:The true incidence of truncus arteriosus in underdeveloped countries is difficult to determine. This is due largely to underreporting as a result of nonavailability of technologically advanced facilities to make definitive diagnosis prenatally. There is a lack of data on the profile and outcome of patients with persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA) in Nigeria. This study aims to document the demographic characteristics, mode of presentation, indications for echocardiography, associated anomalies, average age at diagnosis, and outcome of patients with truncus arteriosus in our center.Methods:Prospective and cross-sectional involving consecutive patients diagnosed with PTA using echocardiography at the Paediatric Department of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria as part of a large study between January 2008 and December 2015.Results:Only 25 patients had PTA during the study period. The prevalence of PTA among children presenting at the study center during the study period was 7.9/100,000. It constituted 2.4% of the cases of congenital heart disease and 7.1% of cases of cyanotic congenital heart disease. The male:female ratio was 1:1.1. The ages of the patients at diagnosis ranged between 0.75 and 153 months with a mean age at diagnosis ± standard deviation of 18.4 months ± 37.7. Only about 40% of patients were diagnosed within the neonatal period. Cyanosis was the most frequent indication for evaluation.Conclusion:PTA is as common in Nigeria as in the other parts of the world but diagnosed late. Cyanosis is the most common presenting feature.

Clinical Characteristics and Patterns of Valve Lesions in Rheumatic Heart Disease Among Children at Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital: A Comparative Study of Newly Diagnosed and Known Cases

“…At admission, 89.7% of patients had class IV heart failure, with comparable figures between the two groups. Furthermore, 62% of patients had chest examination findings suggestive of congestion, indicating congestive heart failure, again consistent with studies in Ethiopia and other low-resource settings where children with RHD often present at advanced stages [6,9,[15][16][17]. However, the proportion of class IV heart failure in our study was significantly higher than reported in other Ethiopian studies (13.6%) and studies from Timor-Leste (78% for all heart failure classes combined) and India (36.4% for all heart failure classes combined) [11][12][13].…”

Clinical Characteristics and Patterns of Valve Lesions in Rheumatic Heart Disease Among Children at Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital: A Comparative Study of Newly Diagnosed and Known Cases.

“…At admission, 89.7% of patients had class IV heart failure, with comparable gures between the two groups. Furthermore, 62% of patients had chest examination ndings suggestive of congestion, indicating congestive heart failure, again consistent with studies in Ethiopia and other low-resource settings where children with RHD often present at advanced stages [6,9,[15][16][17]. However, the proportion of class IV heart failure in our study was signi cantly higher than reported in other Ethiopian studies (13.6%) and studies from Timor-Leste (78% for all heart failure classes combined) and India (36.4% for all heart failure classes combined) [11][12][13].…”

High prevalence of truncus arteriosus in pediatric congenital heart disease in Uganda

“…Whereas other regions report lower prevalence of 2.4% of the cases of CHD,[6] truncus arteriosus marginally followed tetralogy of Fallot at 5%. Mean age at the diagnosis was 5 months of the 165 children with a female preponderance.…”