La fibrillation atriale à l'Hôpital Principal de Dakar au Sénégal : résultats et limites de la prise en charge

Objectives

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of AF in the cardiology department of the Hospital Principal of Dakar, then to evaluate the clinical, paraclinical, etiological and evolutionary profiles of AF and finally to identify the limits of its management in our context.

Patients and methods

This was a retrospective, descriptive, analytical, mono-centric study carried out at Hospital Principal of Dakar from January 2019 to August 2021. Were included, all patients admitted for atrial fibrillation, or patients who presented an atrial fibrillation during hospitalization, confirmed by electrocardiogram or long-term electrocardiographic recording during the study period.

Results

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation during the period of our study compared to the hospital population was 7.71%, with a sex ratio of 1.03. The mean age was 67.88 ± 14.09 years. We noted that 83.64% of patients had at least one cardiovascular risk factor, with 56.36% suffering from hypertension, 50.91% of sedentary person and 23.64% of diabetics. Clinically, 92.72% of the patients were symptomatic, with dyspnea predominating (70.91%). Cardiac arrhythmia was present in 85.45% of patients, and congestive heart failure in 47.27%. Long-term electrocardiographic recording was performed in 10 patients, showing 50% of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Sixty-three patients (57.27%) had permanent AF, twenty-three patients (20.91%) had persistent AF, fourteen patients (12.73%) had long-term persistent AF and ten patients (9.09%) had paroxysmal AF. Transthoracic echocardiography showed 57.27% of left atrial dilatation and 72.3% of reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. Etiologies for cardiac causes were dominated by dilated cardiomyopathy (21.82%), followed by ischemic heart disease (17.27%). In terms of treatment, the most commonly used molecule was bisoprolol (38.18%), followed by digoxin (21.81%). Anticoagulants were used in 85.46% of cases. Acenocoumarol alone was used in 69.09% of patients. Drug-induced cardioversion was attempted in 2 patients without success, and 4 patients benefited from external electric shock with 3 successes. Most patients had a favorable outcome, but 34.54% suffered hemodynamic complications (18.18%) and thromboembolic ones as well (16.36%). In-hospital mortality in our series was 20%. It was significantly related to heart failure, with a left ventricular ejection fraction < 35% (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Atrial fibrillation is serious because of its hemodynamic, thromboembolic and rhythmic complications. The high mortality is explained by the underlying condition, but also by the delay in management with late diagnosis and, above all, the unavailability of ablation procedures in our context.