In hospital complications and mortality of patients of inferior wall myocardial infarction with right ventricular infarction.

This is a cross-sectional study of patients with inferior wall Myocardial Infarction (MI), who attended emergency and got admitted in ICU/CCU of TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj and Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal during November 1999 to October 2000. This study was undertaken to compare the in-hospital complications and mortality of patients of inferior wall myocardial infarction with or without associated right ventricular infarction. Total 53 consecutive patients with acute inferior wall myocardial infarction were enrolled in the study. Right ventricular infarction was determined by the presence of ST elevation of more than 0.1 mv in V4R. All the patients of inferior wall myocardial infarction were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of patients of inferior wall MI with right ventricular infarction and group B consisted of patients of inferior wall MI without right ventricular infarction. In-hospital complications and mortality of group A were compared with group B. Among 20 patients of group A and 33 patients of group B, incidence of cardiogenic shock was significantly higher in patients of group A compared to group B (p=0.05). Ten patients of group A developed third degree AV Block compared to only one in group B; the incidence of which was significantly higher (p<0.001). Sinus nodal dysfunction, manifested by junctional rhythm was found in six patients of group A compared to only two patients of group B (p<0.05). Mortality was found higher in patients of group A, but it was not statistically significant. Two patients of group A expired on first day whereas only one patient of group B expired on the eighth day of admission. In hospital complications especially cardiogenic shock, complete A-V block and junctional rhythm are significantly higher in inferior wall MI when associated with RV infarction.

Coverage and costs of mass immunization of an oral cholera vaccine in Vietnam.

The objective of this study was to describe a mass-immunization campaign of a locally-produced oral, killed whole-cell cholera vaccine in Hue city, Vietnam. Mass immunization with a 2-dose regimen of the vaccine was conducted in 13 communes in early 1998. The total, age- and sex-specific vaccine coverage was calculated using data from the vaccination records and the government census. The number of vaccine doses procured, administered, wasted, and left over, and the human and other resources required to prepare and conduct the vaccination campaign were systematically recorded. Government expenditure for planning, procurement, and delivery of the vaccine were documented. In total, 118,555 (79%) of the 49,557 targeted population were fully vaccinated during the mass-vaccination campaign. The total expenditure for the project was US dollar 105,447, resulting in a cost per fully-vaccinated person of US dollar 0.89. Mass immunization with this locally-produced oral, killed cholera vaccine was found to be feasible and affordable with attainment of high vaccination coverage.

Prevalence of rheumatic and congenital heart disease in schoolchildren of Kathmandu valley in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatic heart disease remains a major public health problem in developing countries with its very high prevalence. Rheumatic and congenital heart disease are significant causes of morbidity and mortality among Nepalese schoolchildren. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of rheumatic and congenital heart disease among schoolchildren of the Kathmandu valley in Nepal. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study included 9420 students, of whom 4466 were male and 4954 were female, with ages ranging from 5 to 18 years. A clinical survey was conducted by the examining team in selected schools, and involved answering standard questionnaires. A total of 83 children were suspected of having heart disease. Out of these 83 children, 23 were confirmed to have heart disease; 11 had rheumatic heart disease, and 12 congenital heart disease, giving a prevalence of 1.2/1000 and 1.3/1000, respectively. The commonest cardiac lesions were mitral regurgitation in the rheumatic heart disease group, and atrial septal defect in the congenital heart disease group. A higher prevalence of congenital heart disease was detected in females. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of rheumatic heart disease and congenital heart disease among schoolchildren of Kathmandu is 1.2/1000 and 1.3/1000, respectively, with mitral regurgitation and atrial septal defect being the commonest lesions.