Clinical implications of incidental medical and laboratory findings in preoperative valvular heart disease patients – A South Eastern Nigerian experience

Introduction: Valvular heart diseases with their varying aetiologies are becoming common in developing countries. Certain biochemical abnormalities exist in this group of patients which may contribute to adverse outcomes. It is imperative for clinicians to promptly and adequately identify these abnormalities where and when they occur for optimal patient outcomes. The study aimed to describe the incidental medical and laboratory abnormalities seen in valvular heart disease patients presenting for open heart surgery. Methodology: This was a retrospective hospital-based study. Relevant data were extracted from patients’ folders, cleaned and analyzed. The study was carried out at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. The study involved adult patients evaluated for heart surgery. The outcome measure was the proportion of participants with deranged biochemical parameters. Results: A total of 51 patients with a mean (SD) age of 42.84 (15.0) years and an M: F ratio of 1:1.4 were involved in the study. Mitral valve regurgitation = 22 (43.14%) was found to be the commonest disorder among surveyed participants. The commonest electrolyte abnormalities were hyponatraemia 14 (27.45%) and hypokalaemia 6 (11.76%) respectively. A total of 8 (15.69%) and 9 (17.65%) patients had elevated creatinine and urea levels respectively, while 3 (5.88%) of the participants had their blood glucose levels in the diabetic range. Conclusion: Hyponatraemia and hypokalaemia were the commonest electrolyte abnormalities. Hyperglycaemia, elevated urea and creatinine as well as deranged eGFR were other abnormal findings.