A 32-year review of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease records at university college hospital Ibadan, Nigeria

Introduction: Rheumatic fever (RhF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are recognized causes of morbidity and
mortality in Nigerians. They are also the most common causes of acquired heart disease in Nigeria. It was therefore
necessary to document the features in patients with these conditions and the number of these patients who had
surgical repair from available record sat our Centre in University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, southwest
Nigeria over 32 years Methods: The study was a retrospective review of 121 patients seen in the University College
Hospital Ibadan from 1976 - 2008 (32 years). Data on the symptoms, signs, and interventions in these patients were
obtained. Data was analysed using SPSS 16. Results: There were 42 males and 79 females with a mean age of
41.87±16.02 years (range:3-85 years).The major symptoms in these patients were breathlessness (89.3%), tiredness
(61.2%) and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea (55.7%). One hundred and fifteen patients (95%) had carditis, 51%
had fever and 18.2% had arthralgia. Only 3.3% of the patients had primary prevention. The majority of the patients
(44.9%) had secondary prophylaxis in the form of intramuscular benzathine penicillin. One hundred and fifteen
patients (95.04%) had rheumatic heart disease with single or multiple valvular involvements. The commonest
valvular lesion was mitral regurgitation (86%) and the least common was aortic stenosis (5%). Only 12 (10.4%) of
these patients had surgical intervention. Conclusion: Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are important
causes of morbidity in Nigeria. The predominant clinical finding from the study was carditis (95%