ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Rheumatic fever and acute rheumatic carditis (ARC), though now rare in developed countries, are the main cause of acquired heart disease in children and young adults and remain endemic in developing countries. This study aims to establish the current prevalence of ARC in Ivory Coast. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional retrospective study was performed between January 2000 and December 2009 in the pediatric wards of the three university hospitals in Abidjan and in the Institute of Cardiology of Abidjan. It included all patients whose final diagnosis was ARC. RESULTS: There were 126 patients of which 57.1% were female. The mean age was 15 ± 6.7 years (range: 4 to 28 years). The average annual prevalence was 12.6 cases, with two peaks observed during the years 2004 (27 cases) and 2005 (20 cases). The hospital prevalence of ARC in the 10-year period was 1.1 which is less than in previous decades. The principal presentation leading to discovery of the ARC was heart failure (68.9%). This symptom was due to significant valvular regurgitation with dilatation of the cardiac chambers observed in 65.9%. Mitral regurgitation was the main lesion observed (87.3%). Apart from the cases of isolated pericarditis and three cases of mild mitral regurgitation, all other patients were suffering from valvular lesions as a result of previous rheumatic fever. CONCLUSION: A decrease in the hospital prevalence of ARC was observed. However the cases that were seen were diagnosed late and had a tendency to be severe.
Subject(s)
Developing Countries , Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data , Rheumatic Heart Disease/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Cote d'Ivoire , Cross-Sectional Studies , Heart Failure/epidemiology , Hospitals, University/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Mitral Valve Insufficiency/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: According to the World Health Organization, an increased prevalence of hypertension in children is observed since several years due to an epidemic of childhood obesity. What is the extent of this epidemic in our African context? METHOD: We conducted a prospective descriptive study of pupils encountered in primary and secondary schools of the district of Abidjan from May 3 to June 1st 2010. A sample of 2038 pupils aged 6 to 18 years was randomly selected. Overweight in pupils was assessed by body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: There were 1182 girls (58%) and 856 boys (42%) whose average age was 12.7±3.6 years. The average weight was 42.6kg±16 (range 14.6 to 106.2kg), the average size was 1.48m±0.19 (range 1 to 1.95m). BMI was 17.2kg/m(2)±3.7 (range 14.6-35.7). The prevalence of obesity was of 5%. In addition, 4% of the students were overweight, 39% extremely thin, 25% thin and 27% normal. Obesity was more common in girls (6.8%) than boys (1.8%). The prevalence of obesity in hypertensives was 16%. BMI influenced the systolic and diastolic blood pressure in both sexes (P<0.001 in both cases). CONCLUSION: Childhood obesity exists in a country like the Ivory Coast where wealthness is far from generalized. A well-organized management of childhood obesity is necessary to avoid complications such as hypertension.
