[Tubeculosis in Abidjan: comparison of children and adults]. / La tuberculose à Abidjan: comparaison entre l'enfant et l'adulte.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health problem, especially in developing countries. Although the extent of TB in children is unknown, children are estimated to account for 5 to 20% of all TB cases. The aim of this study was to specify the differences between tuberculosis in children and in adult outpatients managed in Abidjan. This retrospective study analyzed data from 2617 cases of childhood TB and 36,648 cases of adult TB. The sex ratio was 0.93 in children and 1.50 in adults HIV co-infection was present in 24.5% (174/711) of the children with TB and 44% (5106/11,617) of the adults [OR = 0.413 (0.347, 0.492), p<0.001]. Of the 2610 cases of childhood TB for which complete data were available, 77.24% were pulmonary, including 34.63% smear-positive, and 22.76% were extrapulmonary; in adults, there were 2286 cases of smear-negative tuberculosis, 24,000 smear-positive, and 9348 extrapulmonary (26.2%). The most common locations of extrapulmonary TB in children were lymph nodes (30.1%) and the pleura (26.2%). Treatment failure or death was estimated at 1.9% in children compared with 3.9% in adults [OR = 0.465 (0.326, 0.664), p <0.001]. In Abidjan, TB in children is more frequently smear-negative or located in the lymph nodes than among adults, and it affects girls and boys almost equally.

[Non-tuberculous bacterial pleuropneumopathies in children in Abidjan]. / Les pleuro-pneumopathies bactériennes non tuberculeuses de l'enfant à Abidjan.

We carried out a retrospective study to investigate epidemiological and clinical aspects of patient management in a hospital environment. We studied 90 cases of non-tuberculous bacterial pleuropneumopathies in children, observed over a 5-year period, from January 1 1991 to December 31 1995, at the Pediatric Medical Unit of Yopougon University Hospital. Diagnosis was based on the association of an infectious syndrome with respiratory and digestive disorders, and was confirmed by X ray. Bacteria were isolated from pleural pus and identified in fifty-one cases. Non-tuberculous bacterial pleuropneumopathies accounted for 5.22% of all pneumopathies in children, and the sex ratio for the patients affected was 1.9. Protein and energy malnutrition, anemia, being very young and climatic factors (harmattan and rainy seasons) were identified as major risk factors. The three main bacteria identified were Staphylococcus aureus (21 cases), Streptococcus pneumoniae (19 cases) and Haemophilus influenzae (6 cases). In this series of patients, 20% of the Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated were methicillin-resistant. Patients were generally treated with a combination of penicillin A and M and aminoside, with or without a pleural drain. The outcome was favorable in 77.8% of cases, with no severe sequelae detected by X ray. Six of the children died. Bacterial pneumopathies are still common in Sub-Saharan Africa and the patient being very young is indicative of a poor prognosis.