Rheumatic Heart Disease among Patients with Valvular Heart Disease Admitted to the In-patient Department of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Valvular heart disease continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality around the world, with rheumatic heart disease accounting for the bulk of cases in developing nations. The aim of this study is to find out the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease among patients with valvular heart disease admitted to the in-patient department of a tertiary care centre. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December, 2018 to December, 2020 at a tertiary care centre after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review [Reference number: 395 (6-11) e(2) 077/078]. Patients of age >18 years presenting with valvular manifestations of any disease diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography were included and patients other than Nepalese nationals were excluded. Convenience sampling was done and a sample size of 327 was taken. Data were collected, entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22.0. Point estimate at a 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and percentages for binary data. RESULTS: Among 327 patients, the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease was found to be 237 (72.47%) (67.63-77.31 at 95% Confidence Interval). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of rheumatic heart disease was similar to the other similar studies conducted in similar settings.