Predictors of Coronary Artery Disease in Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi.

There appears to be an epidemiological transition in the etiology of heart failure in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in parallel with a steady increase in risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). SSA has limited access to heart failure and CAD diagnostics, limiting the number of patients who receive optimal care. Our objectives were to study the predictors of coronary artery disease among patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and develop a model to assist clinicians in determining the likelihood of CAD before cardiac catheterization. Methodology: This was a retrospective study at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, which is equipped with diagnostic capabilities for heart failure and coronary artery assessment. We evaluated patients with HFrEF based on echocardiographic data over a 12-year period. Patients with coronary anatomical evaluation data were included. A multivariable model of CAD was generated using stepwise logistic regression. Results: Of the 1329 patients screened, 514 met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 61.0 ± 12.8 years. There were 381 male cases (75.2%), and the predominant race was African, numbering 386 (75.2%). Most patients, 97%, were evaluated through conventional coronary angiography. Further, 310 (60.3%) cases had significant CAD. The prevalence of CAD in HFrEF was 52.3% in Africans, 85% in Asians, and 79% in Caucasians. In the multivariable logistic regression, the odds of having significant CAD was higher among participants with diabetes mellitus (aOR: 1.86; 95%CI: 1.15-3.03), Q waves (aOR: 2.12; 95%CI: 1.12-4.10), significant ST segment deviation (aOR: 4.14; 95%CI: 2.23-8.03), and regional wall motion abnormalities on echocardiogram (aOR: 6.53; 95%CI: 3.94-11.06). Conclusion: In this population, CAD was a major etiology in HFrEF among the African population. The most powerful predictors of CAD were type 2 diabetes, the presence of pathological Q waves, or ST segment shift on a 12-lead electrocardiogram, and regional wall motion abnormality on 2D echocardiogram. Highlights: There is an epidemiological transition in the cause of heart failure in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in keeping with the steady increase in cardiovascular risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD).The prevalence of CAD in African patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) was 52.3%.In the multivariable logistic regression, diabetic mellitus, pathological Q waves, significant ST segment deviation, and regional wall motion abnormalities were significantly associated with CAD.

Assessment of Cardiac, Vascular, and Pulmonary Pathobiology In Vivo During Acute COVID-19.

Background Acute COVID-19-related myocardial, pulmonary, and vascular pathology and how these relate to each other remain unclear. To our knowledge, no studies have used complementary imaging techniques, including molecular imaging, to elucidate this. We used multimodality imaging and biochemical sampling in vivo to identify the pathobiology of acute COVID-19. Specifically, we investigated the presence of myocardial inflammation and its association with coronary artery disease, systemic vasculitis, and pneumonitis. Methods and Results Consecutive patients presenting with acute COVID-19 were prospectively recruited during hospital admission in this cross-sectional study. Imaging involved computed tomography coronary angiography (identified coronary disease), cardiac 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (identified vascular, cardiac, and pulmonary inflammatory cell infiltration), and cardiac magnetic resonance (identified myocardial disease) alongside biomarker sampling. Of 33 patients (median age 51 years, 94% men), 24 (73%) had respiratory symptoms, with the remainder having nonspecific viral symptoms. A total of 9 patients (35%, n=9/25) had cardiac magnetic resonance-defined myocarditis. Of these patients, 53% (n=5/8) had myocardial inflammatory cell infiltration. A total of 2 patients (5%) had elevated troponin levels. Cardiac troponin concentrations were not significantly higher in patients with and without myocarditis (8.4 ng/L [interquartile range, IQR: 4.0-55.3] versus 3.5 ng/L [IQR: 2.5-5.5]; P=0.07) or myocardial cell infiltration (4.4 ng/L [IQR: 3.4-8.3] versus 3.5 ng/L [IQR: 2.8-7.2]; P=0.89). No patients had obstructive coronary artery disease or vasculitis. Pulmonary inflammation and consolidation (percentage of total lung volume) was 17% (IQR: 5%-31%) and 11% (IQR: 7%-18%), respectively. Neither were associated with the presence of myocarditis. Conclusions Myocarditis was present in a third patients with acute COVID-19, and the majority had inflammatory cell infiltration. Pneumonitis was ubiquitous, but this inflammation was not associated with myocarditis. The mechanism of cardiac pathology is nonischemic and not attributable to a vasculitic process. Registration URL: https://www.isrctn.com; Unique identifier: ISRCTN12154994.

Use of standardised patients to assess quality of healthcare in Nairobi, Kenya: a pilot, cross-sectional study with international comparisons.

INTRODUCTION: The quality of clinical care can be reliably measured in multiple settings using standardised patients (SPs), but this methodology has not been extensively used in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study validates the use of SPs for a variety of tracer conditions in Nairobi, Kenya, and provides new results on the quality of care in sampled primary care clinics. METHODS: We deployed 14 SPs in private and public clinics presenting either asthma, child diarrhoea, tuberculosis or unstable angina. Case management guidelines and checklists were jointly developed with the Ministry of Health. We validated the SP method based on the ability of SPs to avoid detection or dangerous situations, without imposing a substantial time burden on providers. We also evaluated the sensitivity of quality measures to SP characteristics. We assessed quality of practice through adherence to guidelines and checklists for the entire sample, stratified by case and stratified by sector, and in comparison with previously published results from urban India, rural India and rural China. RESULTS: Across 166 interactions in 42 facilities, detection rates and exposure to unsafe conditions were both zero. There were no detected outcome correlations with SP characteristics that would bias the results. Across all four conditions, 53% of SPs were correctly managed with wide variation across tracer conditions. SPs paid 76% less in public clinics, but proportions of correct management were similar to private clinics for three conditions and higher for the fourth. Kenyan outcomes compared favourably with India and China in all but the angina case. CONCLUSIONS: The SP method is safe and effective in the urban Kenyan setting for the assessment of clinical practice. The pilot results suggest that public providers in this setting provide similar rates of correct management to private providers at significantly lower out-of-pocket costs for patients. However, comparisons across countries are sensitive to the tracer condition considered.

Assessment of the management of acute myocardial infarction patients and their outcomes at the Nairobi Hospital from January 2007 to June 2009.

INTRODUCTION: The demographics, clinical characteristics and management of patients presenting at the Nairobi Hospital with acute myocardial infarction have not been documented in the past. There is a paucity of studies on this subject in this region. METHODS: A retrospective, hospital-based study was carried out, examining data of patients presenting at Nairobi Hospital with acute myocardial infarction between January 2007 and June 2009. The data collected were patient demographics, coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, clinical presentation, GRACE score risk stratification, coronary anatomical findings on angiography, interventions and outcomes during hospitalisation. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients were recruited (mean age 56.7 years). The CAD risk-factor profile included systemic hypertension in 71.9% of patients, age over 55 or 65 years in men and women, respectively in 42.2%, 35.9% of subjects were smokers, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in 25%, diabetes mellitus in 25%, family history of premature coronary artery disease in 8%, prior acute coronary syndrome in 18.8%, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in 60.9% and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in 39.1% of patients. In the STEMI arm, 79.5% of patients underwent thrombolysis, 17.9% had rescue percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and 2.6% had no reperfusion therapy. Medical management was carried out in 29% of the patients, 19.1% had a coronary artery bypass graft and 40.4% had PCI. The mean duration of hospitalisation was 6.69 days. The in-hospital mortality rate was 9.4% and mean in-hospital probability of death according to the GRACE risk score was 16.05%. Discharge medication was a ß-blocker in 84.5% of patients, an ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker in 48.3%, low-dose aspirin in 96.6%, clopidogrel in 96.6% and statins in 93.1%. CONCLUSION: The risk-factor assessment in our population, albeit small, was in keeping with the traditional risk factors for coronary artery disease. There is, however, room for improvement in reconciling the gap between actual and recommended patient care.