Prevalence and associated clinical features of cardiac murmurs among primary school children in Calabar, Nigeria

Auscultation for Cardiac Murmurs (CM) is a cost-effective means of diagnosing cardiac disease. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of CM and its associated clinical features among primary school children aged 5-12 years in Calabar. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The subjects were 450 pupils, selected using multistage sampling methods from 32 primary schools in Calabar municipal area council of Cross River State, Nigeria. Participants socio-demographics were obtained. Weight and height were taken and Body Mass Index (BMI) calculated. Cardiovascular examination with CM grading were done. Pack Cell Volume (PCV) was measured for children with cardiac murmur. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27 with p-value <0.05 as significance Thirty-one of the pupils had CM giving a prevalence of 6.9%. Males, low socioeconomic group, and low BMI were significantly associated with the presence of a cardiac murmur with male sex as an independent predictor of CM. Cough and pallor were the commonest symptom and sign respectively seen in children with CM. Majority of CM were of grade 1 and 2, early systolic and located on the left lower sternal border. The prevalence of CM was high with male sex been an independent predictor. The commonest symptom and sign seen in children with CM were cough and pallor respectively. It is recommended that routine screening for cardiac murmurs be done among school pupils.