Study of Tuberculosis in Children Aged 1 Month to 15 Years in the Pediatric Ward of the Hospital of Mali 2015-2021

Introduction: In 2020, an estimated 9.9 million people are living with tuberculosis worldwide, including 1.1 million children. Tuberculosis is the 2nd leading cause of death from infectious disease after COVID-19 and the 13th leading cause of death worldwide. Objective: To collect cases of tuberculosis in children aged 1 month to 15 years in order to study the epidemio-clinical aspects in the pediatric department of the Mali Hospital during the period 2015-2021. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive, retrospective study from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2020, and a prospective study from January 1 to December 31, 2021, among children aged 1 month to 15 years admitted for suspected tuberculosis in the pediatric ward of the Mali Hospital. Results: From January 2015 to December 2021, we collected 69 cases of tuberculosis among 9438 hospitalized children, i.e. a frequency of 0.73%. The average age was 6.16 years with extremes of 3 months and 15 years. The sex ratio was 1.1% in favor of boys. The majority of children were vaccinated against tuberculosis (88.4%). The most frequent symptoms were fever (76.8%) and weight loss (73.9%). The pulmonary form was the most frequent (54.9%). Bacteriological confirmation was done in 43.5% of our children. It was Mycobacterium tuberculosis in all confirmed cases. More than half of our children (65.2%) were treated with first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs for 6 months. We observed a cure in 42.0% of our patients and a case fatality rate of 39.1%. Conclusion: Tuberculosis in children is frequent in Mali Hospital despite good BCG vaccination coverage. Its mortality remains high and is maintained by malnutrition, HIV, and the emergence of resistant strains of bacilli.

Epidemiological Profile of Newborns Who Died during Their Hospitalization in the Neonatology Unit, Mali Hospital

Introduction: Neonatal mortality is a serious problem, particularly in developing countries. Objective: To study the epidemiological and clinical profiles of newborns who died during their hospitalization in the neonatology unit of the hospital in Mali. Methodology: This was a prospective study over a 12-month period (January 1 to December 31, 2020) including all newborns aged 0 - 28 days who died during their hospitalization. Results: A total of 424 neonates were hospitalized in neonatology, 54 died, or 12.73%. Newborns aged 0 - 7 days at admission were the most represented at 79.63% and 94.4% were full-term babies. The male gender was dominant with a ratio of 1.17. The following characteristics were frequently observed in the mothers: not educated (46.3%), poor 75.9%, living in urban areas (68%), housewives 75.4%, and having had less than 4 antenatal care visits (53.7%). For babies, respiratory distress and hyperthermia were the most common reasons for hospitalization (37% and 22.2%, respectively), with 40% being resuscitated at birth. Infection and perinatal anoxia were the most frequent diagnoses, respectively 96.3% and 37%. The death occurred within the first three days of hospitalization in 60% of cases. Conclusion: In order to reduce the mortality rate in our facilities, monitoring of pregnancy and delivery, and correct management of newborns both at birth and in the pediatric wards are important.

Congenital Lobar Emphysema in an Infant: A Case Report from the University Hospital of Mali

Congenital lobar emphysema is characterized by distress due to hyperinflation of the affected lung lobe(s). We report the case of a 2-month-old infant with congenital left lower lobe emphysema. A 2-month-old female infant, born at term without incident, was hospitalized for respiratory distress. On a postnatal day 15, respiratory distress occurred. On admission, he weighed 3400 g and was apyretic. He had a polypnea of 58 cycles/min and a oxygen saturation of hemoglobin of 90% on room air. A chest radiograph revealed hyperclarity of the left lung. Chest CT revealed left lower lobe emphysema. He underwent a left lower lobectomy. The postoperative course was uneventful. He was discharged from the hospital 7 days after surgery without sequelae. Physicians should be aware that congenital lobar emphysema can present with respiratory distress in infants. A chest CT scan confirms the diagnosis. Surgical treatment is effective.