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. 2023 Jul 28;6(8):e1446.
doi: 10.1002/hsr2.1446. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Initiating the first rheumatic heart disease clinic in Cameroon: A descriptive study

Nelson Njedock  1   2 , Nathan Yanwou  1   2 , Maxime Wotol  2   3 , Beckly Shu  1   2 , Raisa Azanfack  2   3 , Clovis Nkoke  4 , David Chelo  1   2   3
Affiliations

Initiating the first rheumatic heart disease clinic in Cameroon: A descriptive study

Nelson Njedock et al. Health Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Background and aim: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a significant cause of heart failure in sub-Saharan Africa. The causes of death from RHD are multiple, many of which can be prevented with appropriate follow-up of patients and effective secondary prophylaxis. An RHD Clinic was initiated to attempt a solution in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Over 6 months, its impact was evaluated.

Methods: Two echocardiography registers were accessed, and patients diagnosed with RHD between 2005 and 2018 were contacted. Consenting carers and patients pioneered the first RHD Clinic. Activities of the clinic comprised health education, medical visits, and benzylpenicillin G (BPG) injections. Text messages and phone calls were used to remind patients of their monthly appointments.

Results: Out of 1200 first-time cardiac ethnographies, 70 patients (5.83%) had been diagnosed with RHD. The case fatality rate of RHD was 16.67%. Twenty-three patients were successfully registered and followed-up by the clinic, 70% of whom were female. The age range was 4-22 years. Fifty-three percent had an NYHA score of 2 or more at the time of admission into the clinic. There was an increase in adherence to secondary prophylaxis with BPG from 42.9% at baseline to 87%-95% in the last 3 months.

Conclusion: Our short experience running an RHD Clinic was marked by increased treatment adherence among persons living with RHC.

Keywords: cameroon; children; healthcare services; rheumatic heart disease; text messages.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the procedure for recruiting patients. RHD, rheumatic heart disease.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Gender distribution of patients registered in the RHD registry. RHD, rheumatic heart disease.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Geographic distribution of patients in Yaounde given in proportion (frequency).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage attendance at the clinic and adherence to secondary prophylaxis.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Consistency in clinic attendance. This was computed as the number of clinic sessions attended divided by the expected number of clinic sessions to be attended for each patient multiplied by a 100.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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