Characteristics, aetiological spectrum and management of valvular heart disease in a Tunisian cardiovascular centre.

Background: Valvular heart diseases occur frequently in Tunisia, but no precise statistics are available.

Aim: To analyse the characteristics of patients with abnormal valvular structure and function, and to identify the aetiological spectrum, treatment and outcomes of valvular heart disease in a single cardiovascular centre in Tunisia.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with abnormal valvular structure and function, who were screened by transthoracic echocardiography at a single cardiology department between January 2010 and December 2013.

Unrepaired persistent truncus arteriosus in a 38-year-old woman with an uneventful pregnancy.

Persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA) is a rare conotruncal defect, defined as a single arterial vessel arising from the heart, which gives origin to the systemic, pulmonary and coronary circulations. It has an extremely poor prognosis and carries a high mortality rate during the early years of life unless surgically repaired. A few known cases have been reported of patients reaching maturity, and exceptionally, patients suffering from this disease having lived into the fourth decade.

Childhood rubella encephalitis: diagnosis, management, and outcome.

We to report clinical biological and radiologic features of rubella encephalitis in childhood and assess its prognostic impact. Our retrospective study was conducted in an intensive care unit of a university hospital in Sfax, Tunisia. Twenty-one children (age range, 1-15 years) were included.