PREVALENCE OF RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN MID-WESTERN NIGERIA.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of RHD among primary school pupils in Egor Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State of Nigeria. DESIGN A cross sectional study SETTING The study was carried out among selected primary pupils in three public and six private schools in Egor LGA, (the smallest governmental unit) in mid-Western Nigeria. SUBJECTS Using a multistage sampling technique, pupils were selected from public and private primary schools in Egor LGA. They were clinically screened for evidence of RHD by auscultating for significant murmurs. The pupils with significant murmurs then had echocardiographic evaluation to confirm the presence of RHD. MAIN OUTCOMES Pupils with significant murmurs and pupils with echocardiographically confirmed RHD. RESULTS Of the 1764 pupils recruited, 900 (51.02%) were females while 864 (48.98%) were males. The mean age of the pupils was 8.86 ± 2.14 years. 1065 (60.37%) and 699 (39.63%) respectively were recruited from public and private schools. Of the 1764 pupils, six (0.34%) had significant murmur. Only one of the six had RHD, giving a prevalence of 0.57/1000 pupils. The pupil with RHD was a male, from public school and in the low socioeconomic class. CONCLUSION The prevalence of RHD in this study is low compared to similar studies conducted outside the country. The true prevalence may be underestimated since higher prevalence is obtained from echocardiographic based screening compared to clinical screening.