Seasonality and surgical management of intussusception over 10 years at Harare Children's Hospital.

Objectives: To determine the number of patients with intussusception treated at HCH over a 10 year period. To describe the ages and sex of children operated for intussusceptions. To determine if there is seasonal variation in the number of cases presenting to HCH. To determine the type and method of treatment of intussusception at HCH. Design: This was a descriptive retrospective study. Theatre records were inspected to identify eligible patients. Information regarding sex, age, anatomical subtype and procedure performed was recorded. Setting: Harare Central Hospital, Zimbabwe. Subjects: Two hundred and seventeen (217) participants were enrolled. All patients who underwent surgery for intussusception between September 2003 and August 2013 were eligible. One re-operation was excluded. Results: There were 129 boys and 83 girls. The modal age was 6 months. 61.3% of patients had ileo-colic intussusception, 4.1% colo-colic and 0.5% ileo-ileal. The peak incidence was in September. There was an increase in annual cases in the period under review from 9 cases in 2003/2004 to 34 cases in the 2012/2013 period. 47.5%of patients had resection and primary anastomosis while 24.0% had manual reduction at laparotomy. Conclusion: Intussusception is one of the most common paediatric surgical emergencies at Harare Central Hospital. The age and sex of patients are the same as those found in literature. In contrast with previous data, a strong statistically significant seasonal incidence was observed. The majority of cases were ileo-colic. The most common procedure at laparotomy was resection as opposed to manual reduction.

Cholangiocarcinoma presenting in an adolescent with vertically acquired HIV infection.

An adolescent with long-standing HIV infection who was severely immunosuppressed during HIV diagnosis developed cholangiocarcinoma 1.5 years after starting antiretroviral therapy.

The spectrum of anorectal malformations in Africa.

Anorectal malformations (ARM) remain a significant birth defect with geographic variation in incidence, individual phenotypes and regional geographic subtypes. Although early studies indicated a low incidence in Black patients, there is a great paucity of knowledge as to the types, frequency and incidence of ARMs encountered in the African continent and their associated anomalies. Current evidence suggests a significant clinical load. This study set out to evaluate ARM in Southern and other parts of Africa to define the clinical load of ARM. We retrospectively collected data on 1,401 ARM patients from six South African Paediatric Surgical units plus representative samples from five other African countries from West, Central and Southern Africa. Data included ethnic group, age, gender as well as the anatomical pathology, classification and presence or absence of associated anomalies. ARM lesions classified by the Wingspread classification plus an analysis of fistula position was carried out in evaluable cases for purposes of comparison. South African centres reported a higher prevalence of cloacae and vestibular fistulae, whereas rectovaginal, recto prostatic and anorectal malformation without fistula were more prevalent in the Northern African group. 76% of 1,401 patients were ethnically Black African [gender ratio = 2 (vs gender ratio 1.38 overall)] and 49.8% were "low" lesions (Wingspread classification). High or intermediate lesions were mostly males (72%). Anal stenosis was most prevalent in black males and non-Black females. Fistulae were identified in 95% with 682 (52%) being low (perineal/covered anus/vestibular) fistulae. Perineal fistulae had a male predilection (n = 260; 20%), whereas vestibular fistulas (n = 416; 32%) was strikingly frequent in black females (55%). Of the remainder, 15 fistulae were rectovesical (1.2%), 544 recto-urethral or prostatic (42%), 16 recto-vaginal (1.2%). In addition, there were 43 cloacal lesions (3.3%). Isolated rare ARM anomalies included "Pouch" colon (2) and H-type fistula (2). Isolated lesions occurred in 81% but 163 associated anomalies were identified in 114 patients. These included chromosomal lesions (10), genito-urinary anomalies (50), genital (16), cardiac (31), skeletal anomalies (33), gastro-intestinal malformations (28). Other anomalies included CNS anomalies (14), anterior abdominal wall defects (2) and facial (8) abnormalities and neuroblastoma (1). The ARM is not uncommon in Black African populations and constitutes a significant clinical load to surgical practice in Africa. Ethnic differences appear to exist and vestibular fistulae predominate in black females. Cloaca (3.3%) did appear to be more prevalent. Isolated lesions are frequent but the types of associated anomalies appear similar to other series except chromosomal syndromes. This study illustrates the need for more objective data from developing countries to assess geographical differences.