TITLE:
Epidemiology of Venous Thrombo-Embolic Disease in Yaounde: A Cross-Sectional Study in Sub-Saharan Africa
AUTHORS:
Sylvain Raoul Simeni Njonnou, Chris Nadège Nganou-Ngnindjo, Bâ Hamadou, Bonaventure Jemea, Ahmadou Musa Jingi, Jerome Boombhi, Aimée Tiodoung Timnou, Marie-Josiane Ntsama Essomba, Lydienne Alida Tonye, Aicha Mefire Yap, Murielle Florence Helles Lema, Liliane Mfeukeu-Kuate, Sylvie Ndongo Amougou, Samuel Kingue
KEYWORDS:
Venous Thromboembolic Disease, Epidemiology, Yaounde, Sub-Saharan Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases,
Vol.9 No.5,
May
30,
2019
ABSTRACT: Background: Venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) is one of the main causes of cardiovascular death and a public health problem worldwide. It isone of the most complications in admitted patients, particularly inlow-income settings. The epidemiological data on VTE are still lacking. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study in three hospitals in Yaoundé. We retrospectively reviewed records of patients admitted for VTE from January 2013 to December 2017. We collected data on socio-demography, clinical presentation, venous Doppler/pulmonary CT scan, and outcome. Results: We included 93 patients (43 males) with VTE. Their mean age was 53.3 ± 16.6 years. There were 46 (49.5%) cases of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), 36 (38.7%) cases of Pulmonary Embolism (PE), and 11 (11.8%) cases of PE associated with DVT. The main risk factors were obesity/overweight (58.1%), immobility (43%), HIV infection (22.6%), prior admission (22.6%), and long trip (19.4%). The most frequent clinical presentation for PE was dyspnea (100%), tachypnea (87.2%), and chest pain (70.2%). For DVT, limb pain (93%), calf stiffness (86%), limb volume > 3 cm (82.4%) were the most common presentation. There were 9 (9.7%) in-hospital deaths. Mean hospital stay was 20.7 ± 30.8 days. Conclusion:VTE is underdiagnosed in our setting. Obesity and immobility were the main risk factors. Dyspnea and tachypnea were the main clinical presentation for PE whereas limb pain and calf stiffness were the main symptoms for DVT. In-hospital mortality is still high.