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INTRODUCTION: Pericarditis is a commun cause of hospitalisation in cardiology and internal medicine wards. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe the epidemiological profile of effusive pericarditis at the Department of cardiology of the National Referral Teaching Hospital of N'Djamena, Chad. METHODS: We undertook a descriptive cross-sectional study from January 2017 to December 2019. Patients presenting with effusive pericarditis and who consent to participate were consecutively enrolled during the study period. RESULTS: Overall, 1805 patients were hospitalized at the department of cardiology during the study period with effusive pericarditis accounting for 4.3% of all cases (n = 78). Patients' mean age was 35.84 ± 14 years, [range 16 and 73 years]. The sex ratio was 0.89. Exertional dyspnea, chest pain, poor general condition and fever were main symptoms reported in 90%, 89%, 81% and 51% of the cases respectively. Pericardial rub was found in 51% of the study patients. Eighteen patients (26%) were HIV positive and 97% of the study patients had cardiomegaly. ECG demonstrated low QRS voltage (97%) and diffuse abnormalities of repolarisation (96%). Pericardial effusion was found abundant in 57% of the cases. Etiologies of effusive pericarditis were mainly tuberculosis (47%), idiopathic (21%) and HIV infection (13%). Thirty patients (43%) benefited from pericardiocentesis. The in-hospital mortality rate of the disease was 17%. CONCLUSION: Effusive pericarditis is frequent and associated with poor outcome. Treatment depends on etiology dominated by tuberculosis in Chad.
INTRODUCTION: Les péricardites représentent une cause fréquente d'hospitalisation en cardiologie et en médecine interne. OBJECTIF: Décrire les caractéristiques épidémiologiques et étiologiques des péricardites liquidiennes dans le service de cardiologie du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire la Référence Nationale (CHU-RN). MÉTHODES: Il s'est agi d'une étude transversale descriptive menée de Janvier 2017 à Décembre 2019 sur une série consécutive des patients hospitalisés pour péricardite liquidienne dans le service de cardiologie du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire la Référence Nationale de N'Djamena. RÉSULTATS: Durant la période d'étude, 1805 patients étaient hospitalisés dans le service de cardiologie dont 78 pour une péricardite liquidienne ; soit une prévalence de 4,3%. L'âge moyen était de 35,84 ± 14 ans, [extrêmes 16 et 73 ans]. Le sex-ratio était de 0,89. La dyspnée d'effort, la douleur thoracique, l'altération de l'état général et la fièvre étaient les maitres symptômes dans respectivement 90%, 89%, 81% et 51% des cas. Le frottement péricardique a été retrouvé chez 51% des patients. La sérologie VIH était positive chez 18 patients (26%) et 97% des patients avaient une cardiomégalie. A l'ECG, on retrouvait un micro voltage et des troubles diffus de la repolarisation dans respectivement 97% et 96% des cas. L'épanchement péricardique était majoritairement (57%) de grande abondance à l'échocardiographie. Les étiologies prédominantes étaient la tuberculose dans 47% des cas, une cause idiopathique dans 21% et une infection virale (VIH) dans 13%. Trente patients (43%) avaient bénéficié d'une ponction péricardique. Le taux de mortalité de la péricardite liquidienne était de 17%. CONCLUSION: la péricardite liquidienne est une pathologie fréquente, grave et mortelle au Tchad. Le traitement dépend de l'étiologie qui est dominée par la tuberculose.
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BACKGROUND: Data on hypertensive crises (HC) are limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We aimed to characterize the pattern and short-term mortality of hypertensive emergencies (HE) and urgencies (HU). METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study. Consecutive patients with acute and severely elevated blood pressure (systolic>180mmHg and/or diastolic >120mmHg) with or without acute target-organs damage attending the emergency department (ED) of the Teaching Hospital of Yalgado Ouedraogo, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso were included with a one-month follow-up. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-six of 1254 patients presenting to the ED (January to march 2016) had HC (13.2%) and 113 of them (68.1%) had HE. The mean age was 50.9±15.9 years and males were 63.3% (n=105). Younger age (<45 years) accounted for 55% of the cases. History of known HTN was reported in 101 patients (60.8%). Among patients with HE, 62.8% had brain-related events, 30.1% had cardiac involvement and 31% had acute renal impairment. The overall survival rate was 89% within the first 72hours and 81% at fourteen days follow-up. At one-month follow-up, 36 patients died with a survival rate of 77.8%. Factors independently associated with death were history of known hypertension, acute brain-related damage and renal dysfunction and not being transferred to a specialized department. CONCLUSION: HC are not rare in SSA and are associated with higher morbidity and mortality in HE. Further studies are needed to determine factors that promote HC in African patients in order to better address the prevention and management strategies of such hypertensive entity.
