Treatment of Pediatric Brain Tumors in Brazzaville (Congo) about a Case Series

Introduction: Tumors of the central nervous system are the most common group of solid neoplasm in children and account for 20% to 25%. They are common in Sub-Saharan countries, despite the insufficiency of histological diagnosis. No study has been performed concerning the pediatric brain tumors in the Republic of Congo. The aim of this study was to describe the conditions of neurosurgical management of pediatric tumors in Brazzaville. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective and descriptive study, from January 2014 to December 2017 (48 months), into the neurological unit of the surgical department of Brazzaville. We included all patients aged from 17 years old and below, hospitalized for a brain tumor. Results: We have identified 11 cases of brain tumors. The average age was 8.1 ± 4.3 years old, a sex ratio of 0.57. Ten out of the eleven patients of our series have intracranial hypertension. We found six cases of infratentorial tumors and five of supratentorial location. Only three cases had histology. Ten patients were operated, limited by ventriculoperitoneal shunt in 6 cases, surgical resection in three cases, biopsy in one case. There were no possibilities of radiotherapy and chemotherapy during this period of study. Conclusion: A multidisciplinary team must be organized to improve the management of pediatric brain tumors in our context. Histological diagnosis and possibilities of radiotherapy are imperatively needed.

Socio-Demographic Profile of Adults Admitted in Emergency for Brain Trauma Injuries at the University Hospital of Brazzaville (Congo)

The aim of this study was to evaluate socio-demographic profile of adults admitted in emergency for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) at the University Hospital of Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo. We performed a prospective study within a period of six months, into the surgical unit of the emergency department of the University Hospital of Brazzaville. A total of 2617 patients were recorded, among which 268 cases were TBI (10.25%) where 142 cases were sampled in our series. The average age was 36.7 ± 16.6 years. The sex ratio was 6.1. The TBI was mainly due to road accident in 121 cases (85.2%) described as follows: motorcycle accident about 48 cases (39.7%) and the pedestrian’s injuries about 42 (34.8%). In the majority of the cases, cautions were not taken by the drivers;during the case of the motorcycle accident, about 97.9% of the riders did not wear a helmet. The TBI remains a growing public health concern in the low-income countries, like in Africa. Measurements on the road traffic regulation are to be strengthened to reduce the growth of this silent epidemic.

Brain Metastases: Epidemiological, Clinical, Diagnosis, Treatment and Outcome Features in Dakar

Brain metastases (BM) are the most frequent brain cancer. There are few studies on BM in Senegal. The aim of this study was to describe epidemiological, clinical, diagnosis, treatment and outcome features of patients diagnosed with BM. We conducted a retrospective and descriptive study of patients diagnosed with brain tumors and regularly followed at the neurosurgery department of the “Fann Teaching Hospital (CHNU-Fann)” of Dakar (Senegal) between from January 2010 to December 2017. The medical records of all the patients with evidence histologically diagnosed with BM were reviewed. In our study, 682 medical records of patients with brain tumors were reviewed, and only 20 showed histological evidence of BM (2.9%). The mean age was 45.45 years. The sex-ratio was 0.43. Brain CT scan was performed in all the patients (100%) and brain MRI in 3 patients. The brain lesions were multiple in 70% of the patients and single in 30%. The histological type of BM was adenocarcinoma (55%) and squamous cell carcinoma (45%). Five types of primary cancers were found: lung cancer (50%), breast cancer (30%), colorectal cancer (10%), melanoma (5%) and one undetermined cancer. All the patients had extirpation surgery;50% of the patients died 7 days after the surgery;25% had a survival of 3 months after the surgery and 25% of the patients were lost of sight. Conclusion: The improvement of the screening and diagnosis tests, and the use of the radiation treatment and chemotherapy could allow early management and decrease the death’s frequency of the patients with BM in Senegal.