Community Advocacy and Capacity Building of Community Health Workers on Rheumatic Heart Disease in Osun State, Nigeria.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular diseases in the world. The study aimed to assess awareness and capacity building on the diagnosis and prevention of RHD among Community Health Workers (CHWs) Nigeria. It was an interventional study, where 300 CHWs from public Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities were selected pre-assessed on the diagnosis and prevention of RHD before their training on RHD. Also, a post-test evaluation was done to reassess the CHWs awareness on RHD. Data were analyzed and RHD knowledge was scored and graded. Results showed, at pre-test evaluation, that 49% of the CHWs had good knowledge, 49.7% had fair knowledge while 4.1% had poor knowledge on the diagnosis and prevention of RHD, while post-test evaluation revealed that 100% of the CHWs had good knowledge. Awareness of the CHWs about the diagnosis and prevention of RHD was fair in the pre-test and improved after the training with all the CHWs having good knowledge. This showed the training was impactful. Intermittent assessment of the awareness and simultaneous training of the CHWs on RHD may be scaled up into a significant and effective measure in the armamentarium of community prevention of the disease.

La cardiopathie rhumatismale est l'une des principales causes de maladies cardiovasculaires dans le monde. L'étude visait à évaluer la sensibilisation et le renforcement des capacités sur le diagnostic et la prévention de la cardiopathie rhumatismale chez les agents de santé communautaire (ASC). au Nigeria. Il s'agissait d'une étude interventionnelle, dans le cadre de laquelle 300 ASC des établissements publics de soins de santé primaires (PHC) ont été sélectionnés et pré-évalués sur le diagnostic et la prévention des RHD avant leur formation sur les RHD.. De plus, une évaluation post-test a été réalisée pour réévaluer la connaissance des ASC sur la RHD. Les données ont été analysées et les connaissances sur la RHD ont été notées et évaluées. Les résultats ont montré, lors de l'évaluation du pré-test, que 49% des ASC avaient une bonne connaissance, 49,7 % une connaissance moyenne et 4,1 % une mauvaise connaissance du diagnostic et de la prévention de RHD, tandis que l'évaluation du post-test a révélé que 100% des ASC avaient de bonnes connaissances. La connaissance des ASC sur le diagnostic et la prévention de la RHD était moyenne dans le pré-test et s'est améliorée après la formation, tous les ASC ayant de bonnes connaissances. Cela montre que la formation a eu un impact. L' évaluation intermittente de la sensibilisation et la formation simultanée des ASC sur la RHD peut devenir une mesure significative et efficace dans l'arsenal de prévention communautaire de la maladie. Mots-clés: Cardiopathie rhumatismale, Agents de santé communautaire, service de santé, prévention.

Aortic Valve Regurgitation following Transthoracic Open Surgical Ligation of Patent Ductus Arteriosus.

BACKGROUND: Transthoracic open surgical ligation (TTOSL) of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) remains the most readily available and affordable treatment option in resource-poor countries such as Nigeria. OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence and outcome of aortic valve regurgitation (AR) following TTOSL of PDA. METHODS: Retrospective audit of consecutive patients who underwent TTOSL of PDA over a 4½-year period (January 2015 to June 2019) at the OAUTHC, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Hospital records including echocardiograms (pre-operative, immediate post-operative and follow-up performed a day after TTOSL, at 1, 3 and 12 months) were reviewed for presence and severity of AR. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients (11 males and 15 females) aged 3 months 24 years (Mean = 3.16 years) had TTOS PDA ligation. Only 3 (11.5%) patients had AR pre-operatively; 2 graded moderate AR and 1 graded mild. Twenty (76.9 %) patients had immediate post-operative AR; 4 (20.0%) of which were moderate and the others (80.0%) were mild. Eighteen (69.2%) patients still had AR post-operative day 1; 16 were mild and the rest 2 which were moderate were the same patients that had AR pre-operatively. At 3 months follow-up, 6 of 20 patients (30.0%) had AR; all were mild. Only 2 of 18 (11.1%) followed up for 12 months had AR. They both had had moderate AR pre-operatively which were now graded as mild. There was no mortality. CONCLUSION: Aortic regurgitation is common after TTOSL of PDA. However, in most instances, it is mild and transient.