[Clinical manifestations in patients exposed to an environmental toxic accident (Abidjan, Ivory Coast 2006)]. / Manifestations cliniques chez les sujets exposés à un accident toxique environnemental (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire 2006).

INTRODUCTION: In 2006, 528 tons of petroleum toxic waste have been released in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) during a major environmental accident. This study was aimed to describe the clinical manifestations provoked by these toxic waste. METHODS: We have analysed the records of patients admitted to the university hospital of Cocody (Abidjan) following exposure to toxic waste. All the information were recorded on specific files or on notification files created by the physicians of the National Institute of Public Health, the authority charged with the supervision of this exercise. The files were completed by the physician in the course of the examination of the patient. RESULTS: Over a period of 3-month-period, 10,598 patients were examined. The clinical manifestations affected all age groups. They were dominated by respiratory symptoms: pulmonary (74.5%) and upper respiratory (31.0%). Pulmonary symptoms included cough (48.8%), chest pain (37.9%), dyspnoea (9.5%) and a few cases of hemoptysis. Digestive symptoms mainly comprised abdominal pain (36.2%), diarrhea (23.0%), abdominal distension (19.9%) and vomiting (9.9%). The other symptoms were neurological, ophthalmic, cardiovascular and gynaecological. More than 96% of patients presented with at least two symptoms. The respiratory symptoms were significantly more frequent in patients over the age of 17 while diarrhea and vomiting were more often found in patients less than 17 years old. Chest pain was significantly more common in men while abdominal pain and vomiting predominated in women (P=0.001). CONCLUSION: The clinical consequences of toxic waste exposure were varied and sometimes serious. A medium- and long-term evaluation of the subjects is required.

[Etiologies of non tuberculous empyema in adult patients infected with HIV in a service of pneumology, Abidjan (Ivory Coast)]. / Étiologies des pleurésies purulentes non tuberculeuses chez les patients adultes infectés par le VIH dans un service de pneumologie à Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).

OBJECTIVES: To identify the main bacteria that cause thoracic empyema of HIV-infected patients. METHODS: Retrospective study analyzing the etiology of thoracic empyema in patients admitted to the pneumology clinic of the university hospital center in Abidjan from January 1998 to December 2010. We included all patients with bacteriologically confirmed thoracic empyema and had serological test for HIV. We compared the different pathogens based on HIV status. RESULTS: There were 42 patients of thoracic empyema composed of 24 (63.3%) HIV-infected patients [15 (62.5%) males and nine (37.5%) women] and 18 (36.7%) HIV-negative patients [13 (72.22%) men and five (27.78%) women]. The average age of HIV-infected patients was 41.2 years and 44.8 years for HIV-negative patients. HIV status was known only for 4.76% patients at admission, and most of them had a severe stage of immune suppression, (the average T CD4 cell count was 96/mm(3)). Pleurisy was monomicrobial in 83.33% HIV-infected patients and 94.4% HIV-negative patients. It was polymicrobial in 16.67% immunocompromised patients and 5.56% HIV-negative patient. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from 58.33% HIV-infected patients. Streptococcus Pneumoniae was observed in 61.11% HIV-negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: Gram-negative bacteria are the main causes of thoracic empyema in patients HIV-infected.

[Contribution of the surgical treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis during medical follow-up (experience of the pneumology department of the CHU of Cocody, in connection with five observations)]. / Apport du traitement chirurgical de la tuberculose à bacilles résistants au cours du suivi médical (expérience du service de pneumologie du CHU de Cocody : à propos de cinq observations).

Multidrug resistance is defined as a resistance to two major antituberculosis drugs, which are isoniazid and rifampicin. The aim of the study was to specify the place of the thoracic surgery during the medical follow-up of the TB-MDR. Five files were kept over six years during this retrospective study. On the clinical and radiological level, localised lesions and a negative HIV serology were noted in the five patients. The completion date of the surgery varied between the third month and the 22nd after the beginning of the medical treatment. This delay in carrying out the surgery was encouraged by the social conditions of the patients. Three series of expectoration culture post-surgery were all negative. After surgery, the medical treatment was drawn out over six and 12 months depending on the clinical condition of the patient. No recurrence was observed. Only one patient died one year after the surgery from hemoptysis in relation to pulmonary sequelae.

[Removal of an intratracheobronchial foreign body opaque to X-rays in a child within a context of inadequate medical technical equipment]. / Extraction d'un corps étranger intratrachéobronchique radio-opaque chez un enfant dans un contexte de plateau sous-médicalisé.

Intratracheobronchial foreign bodies are common accidents in children. In developed countries, the removal of these intratracheobronchial foreign bodies is performed with flexible or rigid fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Resorting to surgery is rare. In the inadequate medical context described, suitable medical technical equipment doesn't exist. Removal alternatives are necessary in order to avoid sanitary evacuation which is not always within patients' means. In this study, the authors describe the removal of an intratracheobronchial foreign body opaque to X-rays with foreign body forceps. The forceps, passed through the orotracheal intubation probe, were guided by an image intensification system in a traumatology operating theatre.

[Three cases of visceral leishmaniasis in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire]. / Leishmaniose viscérale à Abidjan à propos de 3 observations.

Three cases of visceral leishmaniasis were observed in a cohort of 528 patients admitted to the Department of Pulmonary Disease of the Cocody University Hospital Center in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire from June 2001 to May 2002. All three patients including 2 women and 1 man were young Ivorians. Assessment of predisposing factors demonstrated that all three patients had diminished immune systems resulting from long-term (2-month) steroid therapy in one patient and AIDS with low rates of CD4 T cells around 100 cells/microl in 2 patients. Clinical features were variable but mainly involved constant refractory fever, anaemia, lymphadenopathy and pleurisy with clear fluid. Despite treatment with meglumine antimoniate, two patients died within the first weeks.

[Bronchial endoscopy for the diagnosis of tuberculous mediastinal adenopathies]. / L'endoscopie bronchique dans le diagnostic des adénopathies médiastinales tuberculeuses.

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the yield of bronchial endoscopy for the diagnosis of tuberculous mediastinal adenopathies. We analyzed the results in 200 procedures in patients with tuberculous mediastinal adenopathies. Mediastinal tuberculous adenopathies were found in 6% of the patients with tuberculosis diagnosed during the same period. Mean age of the patients was 30.5 years, and the sex ratio was 1.5. Bronchial endoscopy improved the diagnostic yield of the bronchial aspiration fluid (22% versus 11% without endoscopy). This method allowed positive diagnosis of tuberculosis in 164 patients (82%) by visualizing specific lesions such as compressions, granulations, and gangliobronchial fistulae. Histological confirmation was obtained in 72 (79%) patients among 91 biopsy specimens. Bronchial endoscopy remains a crucial exploration for the diagnosis of mediastinal tuberculous adenopathy, even in HIV-infected patients, because in our series, among 101 treated patients, 99 were HIV positive (98%).

[Simultaneous resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis]. / Résistance simultanée à la rifampicine et à l'isoniazide chez des malades atteints de tuberculose pulmonaire.

Percentages of primary and acquired resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs provide an epidemiological indicator useful for assessing national anti-tuberculosis programs. Rifampicin and isoniazide are widely used in countries with a high prevalence of tuberculosis. In tropical Africa, these drugs are the mainstay treatment for tuberculosis, used both in the initial and long-term regimens. Simultaneous resistance to these two antibiotics would seriously jeopardize therapeutic efficacy. We studied simultaneous rifampicin and isoniazide resistance in patients hospitalized for tuberculosis in the respiratory disease unit of the Treichville University hospital in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated in 8 patients. All the strains isolated were resistant to streptomycin. History taking revealed that resistance was observed at the initial prescription in 6 cases. A notion of contagion was present in 4 cases. Six patients were HIV-positive. Surveillance of resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs is helpful in detecting early changes which could compromise the efficacy of the therapeutic scheme.

[Efficacy of a short 6 month therapeutic coursefor HIV infected tuberculosis patients in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire]. / Efficacité du régime thérapeutique court de six mois chez les tuberculeux infectés par le VIH à Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

From December 1992 to February 1993, 104 newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients were enrolled in a prospective cohort study to assess the response to the 6 month-short-course regimen implemented in Cote d'Ivoire. This treatment encompassed the daily intake of Rifampicin and Pyrazinamide for 2 months followed by Rifampicin and Isoniazid for the remaining 4 months. All the patients were enrolled at the Treichville Tuberculosis Treatment Centre in Abidjan, and a follow-up of 6 months was observed for each patient. All in all, 41 patients were HIV-positive whereas 63 where HIV-negative. No statistical difference was noted between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients with regard to the completion of therapy (85% versus 87%). The cure rate after an effective 6 month-therapy was similar among HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients (83% versus 84%) as well as the treatment failure rate which was 2.4% and 3% respectively. The results clearly indicate that the 6 month-short-course regimen policy implemented in Côte d'Ivoire is as effective for the treatment of HIV-associated tuberculosis as for the treatment of tuberculosis.

[Pulmonary complications of human immunodeficiency virus infection in sub-Saharan Africa]. / Complications pulmonaires de l'infection par le virus de l'immunodéficience humaine en Afrique sub-saharienne.

Based on a selection of articles published in the literature and reports from international AIDS conferences, we present the main pulmonary complications of HIV-infection observed in sub-Saharan Africa. The different clinical studies demonstrate the predominance of infectious complications, mainly tuberculosis (29 to 44%) and bacterial pneumonia (21 to 35%). The frequency of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia remains low (5 to 19%). Other complications (mycobacterial infection, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, cryptococcus, aspergillosis, interstitial lymphoid pneumonia, Kaposi sarcoma) are less frequent. The autopsy studies report similar results and mention the predominance of tuberculosis and pneumonia due to common germs as well as the low frequency of pneumocystosis. This analysis of work conducted in sub-Saharan Africa clearly indicate that tuberculosis remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected patients.