[Factors associated with overweight and obesity in children in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)]. / Facteurs associés au surpoids et à l'obésité des élèves de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

INTRODUCTION: The international community is increasing concerned about obesity, which it has become one of the most common noninfectious pandemics worldwide and affects a growing number of children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted an analytic cross-sectional study from May 25 to June 16, 2010, among a sample of 435 randomly selected students in secondary schools in the city of Ouagadougou to identify the factors contributing to obesity and overweight. RESULTS: The main factors significantly associated with obesity and overweight were family history of obesity (OR = 7.4), higher socioeconomic level (OR = 3.8), snacking on candy (OR = 5, 3), pastry (OR = 3.5), and chocolate (OR = 12.6), frequent consumption of sweets (OR = 2.2), lack of physical activity (OR = 4.4), and conflictual family relationships (OR = 3.9). CONCLUSION: Dealing with these factors in prevention activities should help to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity and their morbid consequences later on.

[Acute accidental poisoning in children: aspects of their epidemiology, aetiology, and outcome at the Charles de Gaulle Paediatric Hospital in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)]. / Les intoxications aiguës accidentelles de l'enfant: aspects épidémiologiques, étiologiques et évolutifs au CHU pédiatrique Charles-de-Gaulle de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

Accidents are a daily concern in the paediatric ward because of their frequency, diversity and severity. Acute accidental poisoning (AAP) accounts for an important portion of these. To help improvement management of AAP, we conducted a retrospective study covering a period of 2 years from January 2005 to December 2006 at Charles de Gaulle Paediatric University Hospital in Ouagadougou. Of 9390 admissions during the study period, 123 children, or 1.3%, were admitted for poisoning. A cumulative average of 11 were admitted monthly, with a peak of 16 patients in April 2005 and 2006, together. AAP was most common among children aged 1 to 4 years. Their mean age was 3 years and ranged from 6 days to 12 years. Boys outnumbered girls, with a sex ratio of 1.2. Mothers of more than half (61%) of the children poisoned worked in the home. Household products accounted for 44.7% of AAPs, followed by drug (22.7%) and food (22%) poisoning. Kerosene and other petroleum products topped the list of household products, with 54.5%. Tranquilizers (46.4%) and dairy products (37%) dominated the drug and food poisoning categories. Immediate outcome was fatal in 3% of cases, and three quarters of these deaths occurred during drug poisoning of children aged 1 to 4 years. The mean hospital stay was 2 days, and ranged from 0 to 9 days. Health officials, the media, and community outreach must all help to increase awareness about the dangers of poisoning and of preventive measures.

[Lung disease and HIV infection in children at the Charles de Gaulle university pediatric hospital center in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)]. / Pneumopathies et infection VIH chez l'enfant au centre hospitalier universitaire pédiatrique Charles-de-Gaulle de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

To compare the clinical and radiological aspects of lung diseases in HIV-positive and HIV-negative children, we conducted a retrospective case control study covering a 3-year period from January 2003 through December 2005 at Charles de Gaulle University Pediatric Hospital Center in Ouagadougou. HIV-positive patients hospitalised for lung disease were matched to HIV-negative patients controls, hospitalised for the same symptoms, by age and date of hospitalisation. The study included 186 patients (93 HIV-positive and 93 HIV-negative) and collected data on age, sex, clinical signs, radiological signs and short-term course. Of the 93 HIV-positive children suspected to have been contaminated by mother-to-child transmission, 92 had HIV1 and 1 had a double infection of HIV1 and 2. The mean age in both groups was 48 months. Clinically severe lung disease (44%) was more common in HIV-positive children. Radiology showed that interstitial syndrome was significantly more common in HIV-positive children (p=0001) with a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 60%. The case-fatality rate was 4.2% among HIV-positive children. This study allows us to remind paediatricians of the importance of lung disease in HIV-infected children. Moreover, the vertical transmission responsible for disease in all our patients shows the need to accelerate the scaling up of the program for prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in our country.

[Pediatric management of sickle cell disease: experience at the Charles de Gaulle University Children's Hospital in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)]. / Prise en charge de la drépanocytose en milieu pédiatrique : expérience du centre hospitalier universitaire pédiatrique Charles-de-Gaulle de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

Sickle cell disease is a genetic disease most common in blacks. We retrospectively collected records for patients with sickle cell disease who were seen from January 2002 through September 2006 to assess the care provided for this disease at Charles de Gaulle University Children's Hospital of Ouagadougou. In all, 88 patients were monitored quarterly at outpatient visits for sickle cell disease, in the absence of any crisis. Their age ranged from 6 months to 16 years, with an average age of 7. There were more boys than girls, with a sex ratio of 1.44. The distribution according to sickle cell genotype showed that SC accounted for 62% of cases, while SS forms were more frequent until the age of 5. All children have received the immunizations in the standard Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) [diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles and yellow fever]. The immunization rates for non-EPI vaccines including hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae B, Salmonella typhi, meningitis, pneumonia and the combined vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella ranged from 94 to 100%. A prophylactic anti-anaemic agent was made with folic acid often associated with iron. In addition, patients receive malaria chemoprophylaxis. Chloroquine was initially provided, and since 2006, children have been receiving sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Our encouraging results deserve reinforcement in the short-term - at the local level by neonatal screening, the creation of an immunization unit, and the systematization of antibiotic prophylaxis, and in the medium-term by implementation of a National sickle cell disease programme to help meet the objective of a 40% reduction in mortality among affected children younger than 5 years by 2015, set by the Sickle Cell Disease International Organization.

[Risk factors for death from severe malaria in children at the Charles de Gaulle pediatric hospital of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)]. / Facteurs de risque de décès au cours du paludisme grave chez l'enfant au Centre hospitalier universitaire pédiatrique Charles de Gaulle de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

To determine the risk factors for death from severe malaria in children in Burkina Faso, we conducted a retrospective case-control study covering a period of 24 months from January 2004 through December 2005, at the Charles de Gaulle Pediatric Hospital in Ouagadougou. Cases (n=72) were defined as all children hospitalized for and dying of confirmed severe malaria. The control subjects (n=72), matched for age, sex and date of hospitalization; were children hospitalized for confirmed severe malaria who were discharged after recovery. Risk factors assessed included: place of residence, socioeconomic level, self-medication, promptness of hospitalization, nutritional status, temperature and parasitemia. Case and control children were compared with pairwise tests. Low socioeconomic level (OR=5.4), late care (OR=15.5), poor nutritional status (OR=7.9) and a parasitemia greater than or equal to 5% (OR=2.8) were associated with a significant increase in the risk of death. In contrast, the malaria deaths were not associated with place of residence (OR=0.5), self-medication (OR=1) or fever of 41 degrees C or higher (OR=1.1). These results show the need for more health education to encourage early care-seeking in the event of fever, community-based interventions, and strengthening of the technical support centers for health facilities, as part of a national poverty reduction program.

[Neonatal morbidity and mortality in 2002-2006 at the Charles de Gaulle pediatric hospital in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)]. / Morbidité et mortalité néonatales de 2002 à 2006 au Centre hospitalier universitaire pédiatrique Charles de Gaulle de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

INTRODUCTION: Neonatal diseases remain a major public health problem in developing countries. The Millennium Goal of reducing child mortality by 2/3 by the year 2015 requires a major reduction in neonatal mortality. Accordingly, in March 2006, Burkina Faso began a policy of subsidizing obstetric care and neonatal emergency care. To be able to assess the effectiveness of the steps undertaken, we examined the characteristics of morbidity and neonatal mortality in the principal pediatric teaching hospital (CHUP-CDG) before implementation of the program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study looked at hospital records and the database of newborns hospitalized from 01 January 2002 through 31 December 2006. RESULTS: During the study period, of 23 223 children hospitalized, 1226 (5%) were neonates. The number of neonates hospitalized annually has increased from 118 in 2002 to 414 in 2006. Most (70%) were referred by another healthcare facility. Mean age at admission was 9+/-8 days. The socioeconomic level of 60% of the parents was low. The neonatal mortality rate was 15.3%. More than half (58.8%) the deaths occurred on the first day of hospitalization. The leading causes of morbidity were also the biggest killers: the fatality rate for neonatal infections was 16.8%, and that for congenital malformations and acute accidental poisoning 12.9%. CONCLUSION: Neonatal morbidity and mortality remain at worrisome levels. Improved monitoring of pregnancies and conditions of delivery, reduction in the cost to families of care and the opening of a neonatal unit equipped with appropriate material at the pediatric hospital center (CHUP-CDG) should help to reduce neonatal mortality.

[Children of HIV-positive mothers: 4 cases of contamination in 14 years of follow-up at the Rouen University Hospital Center]. / Enfants nés de mères VIH-positives: à propos de 4 cas de contamination sur une période de 14 ans de suivi au CHU de Rouen.

UNLABELLED: The prevention of mother-to-child transmission is important in the control of HIV. Despite preventive measures, the objective of a zero transmission rate from mother to child has not yet been reached even in Northern countries. OBSERVATION: A retrospective study covering a 14-year period (January 1988 through December 2001) examined records of 80 children born to HIV-positive mothers at Rouen University Hospital Center. Four children were contaminated. We report several particularities of these four children, contaminated despite the preventive measures taken. CONCLUSION: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission involves not only administration of antiretrovirals during pregnancy, but also better follow-up of pregnancy and delivery and more effective management of risk factors such as drug addiction and poverty. Multidisciplinary follow-up is needed for these children in view of our current lack of knowledge of the long-range side effects of these antiretrovirals.

[Relevance of reactive fillets in detecting urinary infections in African paediatric environment]. / Intérêt des bandelettes réactives dans le déspistage des infections urinaires en milieu pédiatrique africain.

It is quite obvious that African paediatricians are facing numerous challenges. However, their daily fight against frequent pathologies such as malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections should not prevent them from taking into consideration the existence of other pathologies, particularly urinary infections. The clinical picture of urinary infections which is often polymorphic would require a systematic test among infants. Reactive fillets may therefore be relevant in detecting such urinary infections. This survey shows that the best intrinsic values of the fillets used (multistix 8 SG) are reached with leucocytes (sensibility: 95%) and with the combination of leucocytes and nitrites (specificity: 77.1%). The best predictable validities were obtained with the combination of leucocytes and nitrites (positive predictable value: 68.1%) as well as with the combination of leucocytes or nitrites (negative predictable value: 86%). In the daily practice, reactive fillets may turn out to be helpful to the clinician. The negativity of both tests speaks for the isolation and exclusion of urinary infections. On the other hand, the positivity of both tests highlights a strong urinary infection which is subject to a careful and rigorous use of fillets.

IgE antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum and severity of malaria in children of one ethnic group living in Burkina Faso.

Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection induces elevated blood levels of both total immunoglobulin and anti-plasmodial antibodies belonging to different isotypes. We have previously shown that donors living in areas of malaria transmission develop malaria-specific IgE antibodies that are present at highest concentrations in patients with severe disease, suggesting a role for this isotype in malaria pathogenesis. To establish the possible importance of IgE in the course and severity of this disease, we have analyzed a large and homogenous group of African children (age range = 6 months to 15 years) belonging to one ethnic group (Mossi) living in identical epidemiologic conditions in the same urban area (Ougadougo) of Burkina Faso. While IgG antibodies to P. falciparum increased to high concentrations in very young children and then remained at these levels in older patients, IgE antibodies increased with age, becoming most significantly elevated in children more than four years of age. In older children, those with severe malaria had significantly higher IgE antibody levels than those with non-severe disease. No significant differences between the patient groups were seen for IgG antibodies to P. falciparum. However, when the patients with severe malaria were divided into two groups distinguished by the presence of absence of coma, both IgG and IgE antibodies against malaria were lower in the comatous patients than in the non-comatous patients. The results support the conclusion that IgE antibodies against malaria, regardless of their possible protectivity, also contribute to disease severity in this large and homogenous group of African children.