RESUMO
Introduction: Studies exploring the clinical and imaging characteristics of juvenile-onset back pain (JOBP) are scarce. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical presentation, imaging findings, and factors associated with JOBP. Methods: A retrospective record-based study was conducted among all pediatric cases presenting to the Rheumatology unit of the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon, from January 2014 to December 2023. The study did not include children whose back pain began after 16 years of age. Results: Of the 216 records of patients under 18 examined, 67 children (31 girls) were diagnosed with JOBP. The median age was 15 [13-16] years. More than two-third of the children included in this study had chronic pain (n = 46; 68.65%). Pain was mild to moderate in intensity in 48 children (71.6%). Radiculopathy was present in 10 children (14.92%). The most common location of back pain was the lumbar region (n = 64; 95.52%). Some children experienced pain in more than one location. The location of the pain was not associated with gender, duration of the pain, radiculopathy, or practice of a competitive sport (p > 0.05). Musculoskeletal abnormalities on imaging were found in 38 children (62.29%). In multivariate analysis, peripheral joint involvement [aOR = 0.253 (0.073-0.878); p = 0.030] and mild pain intensity [aOR = 0.077 (0.014-0.422); p = 0.003], were independently associated with the presence of musculoskeletal abnormalities on imaging. Conclusion: JOBP affects a third of children and adolescents of our clinic population. The common musculoskeletal abnormalities found on spine imaging are disc diseases and scoliosis.
RESUMO
Acute fever in the majority of children in resource-limited countries is attributable to malaria and often treated without laboratory evidence. The aim of the study was to characterize acute pediatric infectious fevers (APIF) in the pediatric department of the Douala Laquintinie Hospital. A cross-sectional study was conducted among children aged 2 months to 15 years who were admitted with an acute fever (anal temperature ≥ 37.5°C less than 5 days in infants and 7 days in adolescents). 200 children were included and followed up during their hospitalization. The mean age was 3.7 (IQ25-75: 1-4.6) years. More than 3 out of 5 patients (62.5%) came from another health facility and anemia accounted for 29% of the reasons for consultation associated with fever. The main symptoms were vomiting (28%), cough (26%), convulsions (21%) and diarrhea (20%). Skin-mucosal pallor (43.0%) and hepatosplenomegaly (26.0%) were the most common physical signs encountered. Among febrile children, 116/200 (58%) were infected with at least 1 pathogen, and 1/200 (0.5%) had a fever of unknown etiology. Malaria (53% vs 80.5% presumptive) associated with anemia (95.3% of cases) was the most common pathology associated with APIF, followed by pneumonia (19.5%), meningitis (11.5%) and urinary tract infections (10% vs 54.5% presumptive). Malaria was over-diagnosed on admission and over-treated as well as urinary tract infection. A better understanding of common pathogens carriage, a better capacity for improved diagnosis and a better applied clinical algorithm for febrile illnesses in children are needed.
