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.