TITLE:
Tuberculosis in Children: Epidemio-Clinical Aspects in the Paediatric Department of the Gabriel Touré University Hospital Center
AUTHORS:
Adama Dembélé, Abdoul Aziz Diakité, Mohamed Elmouloud Cissé, Bassirou Diarra, Belco Maïga, Issa Sanou, Pierre Togo, Abdoul Karim Doumbia, Oumar Coulibaly, Karamoko Sacko, Djéneba Konaté, Hawa Diall, Lala Ndrainy Sidibé, Bréhima Dégoga, Fatoumata Léonie Diakité, Guédiouma Dembélé, Fatoumata Dicko, Mariam Sylla, Boubacar Togo
KEYWORDS:
Child, Clinic, Epidemiology, Gabriel Touré University Hospital Center, Tuberculosis
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.12 No.2,
May
16,
2022
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Globally, tuberculosis is the leading cause of death
from a single infectious agent ahead of HIV/AIDS. Approximately 10 million
people contracted TB in 2017, 10% of whom were children aged 0 - 15 years, or
about 1 million with 250,000 deaths in 2016 (including children with
HIV-associated TB). The signs of TB in children are not always specific
and diagnosis remains difficult unlike in adults. According to a study
conducted in 2011 in the paediatric department of the CHU-Gabriel Touré, only
seventeen cases of all forms of tuberculosis were found, or approximately 0.2%
of hospitalised children. The objective of our study was to investigate the
epidemiological and clinical aspects of tuberculosis in children. Materials
and Method: This was a prospective, cross-sectional and descriptive study
that took place from 24 October 2017 to 23 October 2018, or 12 months in
children aged 0-15 years. Data were collected from an individual medical record
opened for each patient and an individual survey form established for each
child. Results: During the study period, 40,434 children were consulted. Tuberculosis was suspected in 91 children, with
a frequency of 0.22%. The age range of 1 to 4 years was 36.3% with a
median age of 72 months. The sex ratio was 1.8. Chronic cough with 84.6% and
malnutrition with 24.17% were the most frequent symptoms. Chest X-ray revealed
bilateral pulmonary lesions in 52.7% and mediastinal adenopathy in 12.1%. TST
was positive in 10.9% of patients, microscopy in 26.4%, Gene Xpert in 18.7%,
and culture in 16.5%. The biological diagnosis of tuberculosis was retained in
48.4% of the patients, the pulmonary form represented 93.2%. The therapeutic
regime (2RHZE/4RH) was used in 81.6% of cases and the evolution was favourable
in 65.9% of patients. Conclusion: The diagnosis of tuberculosis in
children remains difficult in our context. The clinical signs are not always
specific, and further studies are needed to further elucidate this disease.