Pilot Study; Estimating Sample Size for the Prevalence of Pre-Clinical Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction Using Two American College of Echocardiography Guidelines in a Semi-Urban Nigerian Population

Aim: To estimate the sample size for the prevalence of pre-clinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction using two American college of echocardiography guidelines in a semi-urban Nigerian population.

Study Design: Cross sectional, population based.

Place and Duration of Study: Neni, Anambra State, Nigeria on the 18th and 19th December 2023.

Methodology: Fifty subjects with age range of 18—70 years were consecutively recruited after a community awareness creation. Subjects gave informed oral and/or written consent before proceeding for an interviewer administered questioning of their biodata and clinical history. Anthropometric measurements were obtained followed by clinical examination and electrocardiography. Echocardiography was done using the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) guideline with the left ventricular diastolic function assessed using the 2009 and 2016 guidelines.

Results: Mean age of participants was 54.3±14.0 years consisting of 15 males and 35 females. The prevalence of pre-clinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction was 16% and 14% using the ASE 2009 and 2016 guidelines respectively.

Conclusion: Prevalence enabling accurate sample size calculation for the main study was obtained. Modifications were made to the research proposal based on lessons learnt.