[Poorly tolerated atrial tachycardia in a newborn: a case study]. / La tachycardie atriale mal tolérée du nouveau-né: à propos d'un cas.

Poorly tolerated cardiac rhythm disorders in the newborn are a real emergency requiring early and adequate management. We here report the case of 15-day old newborn with atrial tachycardia associated with acute heart failure requiring electrical cardioversion.

[Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy in Louga (Senegal): patients' profile and difficulties encountered]. / Endoscopie digestive haute à Louga (Sénégal): profil des patients et difficultés rencontrées.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine the epidemiological, clinical and endoscopic profile of patients referred for upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy to the Clinique Magou in Louga and to analyze the difficulties encountered. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective and descriptive study by analysing the reports of 248 gastrointestinal endoscopies performed between 1st January and 31st December 2014. RESULTS: The average age was 39.9 years, with a sex ratio of 2.3 in favor of females. The majority of patients (56.5%) came from a rural area. Patients were mostly housewives (55.2%). The majority of prescribers were physicians (77.8%). Epigastralgia was the main indication. Hiatal hernia dominated (33.1%), followed by normal examinations (22.5%) and isolated gastroesophageal reflux disease (12.5%). Only 2 results out of 13 biopsies performed were reported. No requested endoscopic control was performed. CONCLUSION: Few upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopies are performed in Louga. The typical patients' profile is constituted by young housewives living in rural areas, complaining of gastralgies. Their endoscopic examination, instead of being normal, show hiatal hernia or gastroesophageal reflux disease. The difficulties are related to non-received anatomopathological results and to the absence of endoscopic control after treatment.

[The prevalence of symptomatic infantile heart disease at Louga Regional Hospital, Senegal]. / Prevalence des cardiopathies infantiles symptomatiques au Centre Hospitalier Régional de Louga, Senegal.

The management of congenital or acquired infantile heart diseases in sub-Saharan African countries still presents problems, particularly with diagnosis and access to surgical treatment. Our objectives were to describe the heart diseases observed in the paediatric setting of the Louga Regional Hospital (LRH) and report their short-term evolution. In the study period from 1 July 2009 to 31 December 2012, 82 children out of 18,815 presented with heart disease, which was a prevalence of 4.3/1,000. There was a female predominance, with a ratio of 1.2. The most frequent presenting conditions were dyspnoea at 47.5%, followed by heart murmurs at 35.3%, and congestive heart failure at 13.4%. Congenital heart diseases were the most frequent, representing 69.5% of the cases, followed by acquired heart diseases at 29.3%, and mixed-type cases at 1.2%. The most frequently encountered congenital heart diseases were ventricular septal defect (24.4%), followed by atrioventricular septal defect (12.2%), tetralogy of Fallot (9.8%) and patent ductus arteriosus (7.3%). Acquired heart disease was represented by rheumatic heart disease, found in 25.6% of the cases, and tuberculous pericarditis in 3.7%. The mortality rate was high, with 20 children dying (24.4%) during the study period. Only 13 out of 82 patients (15.9%) were operable and surgery was carried out in France, courtesy of the association Humanitarian Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque. Infantile heart diseases were therefore not very frequent in the paediatric unit of Louga Regional Hospital. However, congenital heart disease was more frequent than acquired heart disease, with a high mortality rate. Access to surgery remains limited.