New Support Tool to Decision Making in Diagnosis, Treatment and Prognosis for Cardiovascular Diseases during Pregnancy

Abstract

Introduction: The diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy are characterized by the scarcity of research and prospective studies, as well as lack of consensus among experts in the treatment. This situation generally threatens the precision of the decisions made by doctors in settings with low level of expertise. Furthermore, when treating these conditions, irresolution, uncertainty, and vagueness of information may occur.
Objectives: To propose a novel decision-making support tool for diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy, which contributes to increasing the effectiveness of medical decisions and mitigating the lack of expertise in the treatment of these diseases.
Methods: The tool based on neutrosophic cognitive maps, with triangular neutrosophic numbers was validated through its application for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy. The proposed database was made up of 424 cases of pregnant women with different cardiovascular pathologies. These data were given by the National Heart Disease and Pregnancy Service.
Results: Results of the application of the suggested tool established its effective use in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy. This was approved through the satisfactory assessment of experts taking into consideration the following criteria: diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and answer time.
Conclusions: The proposed tool helped to increase the efficacy of medical decisions associated with diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy in settings with low expertise. Its use contributed to avoid patients' complications and therefore resources and medical supplies are saved; it helps to reduce the time of diagnosis and to improve the quality of life of pregnant women with heart disease during pregnancy.