PREVALENCE OF RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE AND ITS ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS IN PEDIARIC PATIENTS AGE BETWEEN 5-14 YEARS ADMITTED TO PEDIATRIC WARD FROM 2014- APRIL 2018

Abstract

Abstract Background Rheumatic heart disease, a sequel of rheumatic fever, is a major cause of heart disease in pediatric age group in low and middle income countries. In population based study in a rural area of Ethiopia showed an overall prevalence of 37.5 cases of RHD per 1000 population. The disease has great impact on our nation’s health care system due to its high morbidity and mortality rates. It demands great resources to treat and affects the young adult generation of the country having a great impact on the countries socioeconomic activities. Objective The research aims to find the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease and its associated risk factors in pediatric age group of 5-14 admitted to Saint Paul’s hospital millennium medical college pediatric ward from 2014-April of 2018. Methods The study was a hospital based retrospective cross sectional study to assess the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease and its associated risk factors in children whose age was between 5- 14 years admitted to SPHMMC pediatric ward 2014-April of 2018. 91 cases were identified from the HMIS log books. The data was collected from March 15- May 4 2018 by the researcher from patient charts through a template designed after review of multiple researches and entered to SPSS 20 after it was checked for completeness. The analysis was made by cross tabulation and association between the variables was assessed by using chi-square test and if p<0.05 it was taken as statistically significant. The data collected was confidential and used for research purpose only. Results In this study it was found that 14.2% of the admissions are children affected by RHD. The study found no significant association between the disease and the risk factors like malnutrition, overcrowding, low income, history of sore throat, number of siblings, maternal education status and maternal occupation. Conclusion and recommendation RHD accounts for 14.2% of total patient admission to the pediatric wards. The research showed ARF is not being identified early and all of discharged patients are not having follow up. Educating mothers and community influencers about the disease can lead to early identification and prevention of the disease. Counseling parents on strict follow up is also recommended.