Early practice with two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital. Ado Ekiti Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is an essential noninvasive heart study technique which has changed the practice of cardiology worldwide. The procedure began at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital on October 24, 2017, till date. Objective: The objective of the study is to present our early practice with TTE in our location. Materials and Methods: It is a descriptively analyzed retrospective data acquired on demographic parameters, indications for the procedure, echocardiographic parameters, and diagnoses. The procedure was performed using general electric ultrasound machine Logiq C5 premium equipped with 3.5–5.0MHz transducer. Results: Three hundred and three procedures were done between October 24, 2017, and December 17, 2019 (2 years 2 months). There were 158 males and 145 females who were aged 52.8 ± 18.1and 56.6 ± 17.2 respectively. The mean age for all the subjects was 54.6 ± 17.8 years. Hypertension made up 168 (55.4%) and arrhythmia 25 (8.3%) of the indications for the procedure. The various diagnoses made include hypertensive heart disease (HHDx) (47.2%), cardiomyopathy (7.3%), valvular heart disease (rheumatic type) (5.9%), congestive cardiac failure (2.6%), pericardial disease (2.0%), left ventricular failure (1.7%), cor-pulmonale (1.7%), thyrotoxic heart disease (0.7%), ischemic heart disease, incomplete echo due to orthopnea, congenital heart disease (0.3%), and normal echo was recorded in (30%). Conclusion: HHDx was the most common diagnosis in our study. Other diagnoses include dilated cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease (rheumatic type), cor pulmonale, congestive cardiac failure with varied ejection fractions, and peripartum cardiomyopathies. Congenital heart disease was uncommon.