Ileal perforation peritonitis secondary to ingestion of magnetic beads in the older child: A case report.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Foreign body ingestion is frequent in younger children, with generally good outcome on conservative management. However, magnetic beads ingestion is an exceptional cause of intestinal perforation in the older children. CASE PRESENTATION: An 8-year-old boy presented with clinical signs of generalized acute peritonitis. Abdominal plain X-ray confirmed the foreign object in the digestive tract and oriented the etiology by highlighting several air-fluid levels, distended small bowel loops, pneumoperitoneum and the presence of a bilobed foreign body projected adjacent to the 5th lumbar vertebra. Open surgical exploration was performed and revealed a peritoneal fluid, 2 perforations in the small bowel and 2 adhered pieces of magnets. A 20 cm ileal resection, including the segment with the 2 perforations, was performed followed by a terminal ileostomy. The restoration of gastrointestinal continuity was performed 16 days later. After a follow-up of 2 years and 8 months, the patient was free of any symptom. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: In cases of acute peritonitis due to perforation, the general condition deteriorates progressively. Fever may be absent, as was the case with our patient. Abdominal pain is the predominant symptom, it is often accompanied by vomiting that can be alimentary, bilious, or even fecaloid and/or by cessation of bowel movements and/or gas. Abdominal rigidity is a major physical sign, sometimes replaced by generalized guarding. CONCLUSION: Ingestion of gastrointestinal foreign bodies is rare in older children, the presence of more than one magnet can lead to peritonitis due to intestinal perforation.

Management of Umbilical Hernia in African Children: The Experience of 2146 Cases.

Aims: Umbilical hernia (UH) is common in African and African-descent children. In high-income countries (HICs), it is considered benign, which is not the case in Sub-Saharan ones. Through this study, we aimed to share our experience. Materials and Methods: A descriptive review was conducted from January 01, 2012 to December 31, 2017 at Albert Royer National Children's Hospital Center. Among the 2499 patients, 2146 cases were included in the review. Results: UH had a frequency of 6.5%, with patients having a mean age of 2.6 years, with a male preponderance of 63%. Emergency consultation occurred in 37.1%. The symptomatic hernia was present in 90.9%. The congenital type was found in 96%, a history of painful episodes was reported in 46%, and medical and surgical comorbidities were found in 30.1% and 16.4%, respectively. Multimodal anesthesia was used in 93.1%. A lower umbilical crease incision was made in 83.2%, the sac was not empty in 16.3%, and additional umbilicoplasty was performed in 16.3%. During a 14-month follow-up, a complication occurred in 6.5% and mortality in 0.05%. Conclusion: In our region, the pediatric UH was predominantly symptomatic, with its natural evolution leading to more complications than in HICs. Its management carried acceptable morbidity.

Brachial Plexus' Schwannoma in a Child.

Children's schwannoma is a rare condition, generally occurring in a sporadic way. Its aetiology is still not fully understood. We report the case of a 10-year old girl who presented a left shoulder mass, along motility reduction of the left upper limb for 24 months before presentation at our service. A biopsy resection of the mass gave the diagnosis and 6 months after surgical resection, no complication occurred.

[Management of congenital diaphragmatic hernia in sub-Saharan Africa: experience in the Albert Royer National Children's Hospital Center, Senegal]. / Prise en charge de la hernie diaphragmatique congénitale en Afrique sub-Saharienne: l'expérience du Centre Hospitalier National d'Enfants Albert Royer au Sénégal.

Introduction: congenital diaphragmatic hernia has been rarely reported in Africa. It can manifests early or late. Prognosis mainly depends on associated malformations. The purpose of this study is to report our experience in the Albert Royer National Children's Hospital, Dakar, Senegal. Methods: we conducted a retrospective study of patients treated for congenital diaphragmatic hernia between January 2010 and December 2019. Results: twelve patients were enrolled, with an average age of 8.9 months. Bochdalek hernias were detected in 10 patients. The most common symptoms were respiratory symptoms (83.3%), followed by digestive symptoms (41.6%). Thoraco-abdominal X-ray was used to make a diagnosis in all patients. Three patients underwent preoperative stabilization. All patients underwent laparotomy. Hernia sac was found in 10 patients, and 50% of patients had a defect measuring between 5 and 10 cm. The postoperative course was simple in 10 patients; a polymalformed patient died. Conclusion: congenital diaphragmatic hernia is a reality in our environment; it most often manifests beyond the neonatal period. Prognosis is generally good in our context.

Factors associated with mortality in congenital malformations of the gastrointestinal tract in a tertiary center in Senegal.

Objective: Patients with congenital malformations (CMs) of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) have a very high mortality. However, the literature on the factors associated with mortality in these patients is scarce in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study is to identify independent risk factors for mortality in patients with CMs of the GIT at our pediatric surgical department. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of cases with CMs of the GIT managed at a tertiary center from 2018 to 2021. Patients were subdivided into two groups based on the outcomes, and variables with a significant difference were analyzed by logistic regression. Results: Our review included 226 patients, 63 of whom died (27.88%). Patient age ranged from 0 to 15 years. Taking into account statistical significance, mortality was more frequent in neonates than in older patients (57.30% vs 6.15%), in patients coming out of the Dakar area than in those from the Dakar area (43.75% vs 19.18%), in patients with abnormal prenatal ultrasound than in those with normal ultrasound (100% vs 26.67%), in premature children than in those born at term (78.57% vs 21.87%), in patients with an additional malformation than in those with an isolated malformation (69.23% vs 25.35%), and in those with intestinal, esophageal, duodenal and colonic atresia than in those with other diagnoses (100%, 89%, 56.25% and 50%, respectively). Referred patients died more than those who changed hospitals or came from home (55.29% vs 25% and 9.09%, respectively). On multivariable logistic regression, two independent factors of mortality were identified: presence of associated malformation [odds ratio (OR)=13.299; 95% Confidence interval (CI) 1.370 to 129.137] and diagnosis of esophageal atresia (OR=46.529; 95% CI 5.828 to 371.425). Conclusion: The presence of an associated malformation or diagnosis of esophageal atresia increases mortality in patients with CMs of the GIT in our environment.

Esophageal achalasia in an adolescent in Central Africa: a case report.

Esophageal Achalasia has rarely been reported in sub-Saharan Africa. We report a case of a 12 years old boy who has been diagnosed after experiencing dysphagia for a year and progressive wasting. Esophagogram was the only exploration available in our settings and showed classical features. He underwent a Heller esophago-cardiomyotomy with Toupet fundoplication. Postoperative period was unremarkable and BMI normalized for age and sex on the sixth postoperative month. In low settings, history is a key step which lead to clinical suspicion as esophagogram is often the only available exploration to confirm the diagnosis.

[Meckel's diverticulitis by ascaris in children: about a case]. / Diverticulite de Meckel d´origine ascaridienne chez l´enfant: à propos d´un cas.

We here report the case of a 4-year-old male child presenting with congenital umbilical bud that, recently, had begun to bleed. Physical examination showed pinkish umbilical bud with blood stains but without any fistula, measuring about 1,5 cm in diameter. Abdominal ultrasound was performed, which suggested urachal sinus. Surgery revealed umbilical bud communicating, in the abdominal portion, with hyperemic, inflammatory Meckel´s diverticulum placed 90 cm away from the ileocaecal angle in which many ascaris were detected. Anatomo-pathological examination of the surgical specimen showed diverticulitis. Thus, the diagnosis of Meckel´s diverticulitis by Ascaris was retained. Resection and anastomosis with bud excision were performed. The postoperative course was simple even after a 6-month follow-up period.

[Conservative treatment of giant omphaloceles with dissodic 2% aqueous eosin: a case serie]. / Traitement conservateur des omphalocèles géantes par l'éosine aqueuse disodique 2%: une série des cas.

Primary surgical closure for the treatment of giant omphalocele is punctuated by the onset of unpleasant complications. Conservative treatment is an option in low-income countries where neonatal resuscitation is associated with high mortality rates. We conducted a prospective study of patients admitted to the University Clinics of Lubumbashi between January and April 2020 and receiving conservative treatment based on dissodic 2% aqueous eosin according to a defined protocol. Three patients were included in our series. The mean age was 24 hours (1 - 48); they were all full term newborns (38 - 39 SA), born vaginally and with no prenatal diagnosis. Mean birth weight was 2,800 grams (2,400 - 3,000). Mean amniotic sac diameter was 13.7 cm (11 - 15 cm); it contained the liver in all cases. The median time to enteral feed was 4.3 days (4 - 5 days), to granulation was 31.7 days (30 - 33 days) and to epithelialization was 71.7 days (60 - 90 days). No death was reported. These preliminary results encourage the use of disodium aqueous eosin for the conservative treatment of unbroken giant omphaloceles.

Congenital segmental dilatation of the jejunum in an African child: a case report.

Congenital segmental dilatation of the intestine is a rare disease. It is rarely located in the jejunum and its etiology is still unknown despite many theories suggesting its mechanism. We report a case of a 17 months girl who experienced nonspecific symptoms (abdominal pain, constipation and loss of appetite) since early her infancy. She had no growth retardation and had moderate abdominal distension on physical examination. Investigations undertaken could not increase suspicion of congenital segmental dilatation of the intestine (CSDI). The diagnosis was made peroperatively and a resection was done, followed by end-to-end jejunal anastomosis. There were no postoperative complications and the patient is doing well after four months. One should think of CSDI in children with chronic subocclusion or digestive hemorrhage.

[Anorectal malformations: a 6-years review at the University Clinics of Lubumbashi]. / Malformations anorectales: revue de 6 ans aux Cliniques Universitaires de Lubumbashi.

Anorectal malformations (ARM) are developmental anomalies of the genitor anal elements, they represent a wide range of anomalies. An early diagnosis allows a better management as it reduces mortality associated with ARM, especially in developing countries. A prospective cross-sectional study has been carried, including patients from 0 to one year, admitted in our service for ARM. Twenty-four (24) patients have been considered. The median age was 2 days, the sex ratio 1/3 for female. Intestinal occlusions were the most frequent circumstances of diagnosis (50%), low ARMs were the most frequent, diagnosed in 11 patients (45.7%) of which 10 did not have any fistula. The most common associated malformation was intestinal atresia (3 patients). Anoplasty was done using abdominoperineal pull-through associated to anal dilatations in 13 patients (54.1%). Six patients died from unknown etiology and 6 were lost from the follow-up. Concerning the functional outcome, 12 of the 24 patients concerned by the study attended review and 3 of them presented signs of fecal incontinence, 9 of them were continents among whom 8 were diagnosed low ARM and one with high ARM. ARMs are encountered in our environment, nonetheless, the diagnosis is still made most of the time, during an intestinal occlusion. The mortality rate is still high and measures should be taken to allow long-term reviews, which will surely reduce the number of lost patients.

[Recurrent hernia of the Jean Louis Petit triangle: a case study]. / Récidive d'une hernie primaire de Jean-Louis Petit: à propos d'un cas.

Hernia of the Jean Louis Petit triangle and hernia of Grynfeltt's quadrilateral space can be classified as lumbar hernias. Its clinical diagnosis is confirmed by computed tomography and, possibly, by ultrasound or x-ray. There is a formal indication for surgery including swelling or functional discomfort but, above all, the risk of strangulation. We here report a rare case of recurrence of primary hernia of the Jean Louis Petit triangle in a 65-year old man.