Prevalence and factors associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension on maintenance hemodialysis patients in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Although cardiovascular diseases in particular Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is associated with, high morbid-mortality in chronic hemodialysis, but its magnitude remains paradoxically unknown in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of PAH and associated factors in chronic hemodialysis in Sub-Saharan African population. METHOD: In a cross-sectional study, patients treated with HD for at least 6 months in 4 hemodialysis centers were examined. PAH was defined as estimated systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (sPAP) ≥ 35 mmHg using transthoracic Doppler echocardiography performed 24 h after the HD session. RESULTS: Eighty-five HD patients were included; their average age was 52.6 ± 15.9 years. Fifty-seven patients (67.1%) were male. Mean duration of HD was 13.3 ± 11 months. With reference to vascular access, 12 (14.1%), 29 (34.1%) and 44 (51.8%) patients had AVF, tunneled cuff and temporary catheter, respectively. The underlying cause of ESRD was diabetes in 30 patients (35.3%). The prevalence of PAH was 29.4%. Patients with PAH had more hyponatremia (11 (44%) vs 10 (16.7%), p = 0.010). In multivariate analysis, unsecured healthcare funding (aOR 4, 95% CI [1.18-6.018]), arrhythmia (aOR 3, 95% CI [1.29-7.34]), vascular access change (aOR 4, 95% CI [1.18-7.51]) and diastolic dysfunction (aOR 5, 95% CI [1.35-9.57] were independently associated with PAH. CONCLUSION: One third of hemodialysis patients exhibit PAH, which is independently associated with low socioeconomic status (unsecured funding, vascular access change) and cardiovascular complications (arrhythmia, diastolic dysfunction).

Prognostic Significance of Abnormal Ankle-Brachial Index Among Long-term Hemodialysis Patients in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

OBJECTIVE: Early identification of atherosclerosis using a non-invasive tool like ankle-brachial index (ABI) could help reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease among long-term hemodialysis patients. The study objective was to assess the frequency and impact of abnormal ABI as a marker of subclinical peripheral artery disease (PAD) in chronic hemodialysis patients. METHODS: This was a historic cohort study of kidney failure patients on long-term hemodialysis for at least 6 months. The ABI, measured with two oscillometric blood pressure devices simultaneously, was used to assess subclinical atherosclerosis of low limb extremities. Abnormal ABI was defined as ABI <0.9 or >1.3 (PAD present). Survival was defined as time to death. Independent factors associated with abnormal ABI were assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis. Kaplan-Meier method (log-rank test) was used to compare cumulative survival between the two groups; a P value <0.05 was statistically significant. RESULTS: Abnormal ABI was noted in 50.6% (n=43) of the 85 kidney failure patients included in the study; 42.4% (n=36) had a low ABI, and 8.2% (n=7) had a high ABI. Factors associated with PAD present were cholesterol (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.04; P=0.019), inflammation (AOR, 9.44; 95% CI, 2.30-18.77; P=0.002), phosphocalcic product (AOR, 6.25; 95% CI, 1.19-12.87; P=0.031), and cardiac arrhythmias (AOR, 3.78; 95% CI, 1.55-7.81, P=0.009). Cumulative survival was worse among patients with PAD present (log-rank; P=0.032). CONCLUSION: The presence of PAD was a common finding in the present study, and associated with both traditional and emerging cardiovascular risk factors as well as a worse survival rate than patients without PAD.

Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Clinique Ngaliema, a public hospital in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical characteristics of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 at Clinique Ngaliema, a public hospital, in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed medical records including socio-demographics, past medical history, clinical manifestation, comorbidities, laboratory data, treatment and disease outcome of 160 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, with confirmed result of SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. RESULTS: The median age of patients was 54 years (IQR: 38-64), and there was no significant gender difference (51% of male). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (55 [34%]), diabetes (31 [19%]) and obesity (13 [8%]). Fever (93 [58%]), cough (92 [57%]), fatigue (87 [54%]), shortness of breath (72 [45%]) and myalgia (33 [21%]) were the most common symptoms, upon admission. Patients were categorized into mild (92 [57%]), moderate (19 [12%]) and severe (49 [31%]). Severe patients were older and were more likely to have comorbidities, compared to mild ones. The majority of patients (92% [147 of 160]) patients received hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine phosphate. Regression model revealed that older age, lower SpO2, higher heart rate and elevated AST at admission were all risk factors associated with in-hospital death. The prevalence of COVID-19 and malaria co-infection was 0.63% and 70 (44%) of all patients received antimalarial treatment before hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that the epidemiological and clinical feature of COVID-19 patients in Kinshasa are broadly similar to previous reports from other settings. Older age, lower SpO2, tachycardia, and elevated AST could help to identify patients at higher risk of death at an early stage of the illness. Plasmodium spp co-infection was not common in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.