Pattern and Outcome of Congestive Heart Failure in the Intensive Care Unit of the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: There is paucity of data on congestive heart failure (CHF) in the intensive care unit in our setting. This study aimed to provide a better knowledge of pattern and outcome of CHF in the intensive care unit of the Yaounde University Teaching Hospital. Methods: We carried out a descriptive and retrospective study over a period of 21 months. We collected sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical outcome and medication data from patients’ files. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS Version 20.0 Software. Results: We included 24 patients in this study. CHF represented 6.7% of admissions in the ICU. The sex ratio was 1. The mean age was 62 ± 16 years. The most frequent comorbidity was hypertension (50%). Most of the patients (84.6%) were classified Stage IV according to the NYHA. Dyspnea on exertion was the most frequent symptom (87%), while bilateral fine crackles were the main findings on physical exam (75%). Atrial fibrillation was the most frequent abnormality on ECG (53.3%), and most of the patients had a severe decrease in LVEF (87.5%). The mean duration of hospital stay was 10 days. In hospital, mortality was 25%, and this was significantly associated with mean blood pressure