[Acute pancreatitis at the Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital in Burkina Faso]

AIMS

To study the epidemiological, diagnostic, etiologic, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of acute pancreatitis in Burkinabe.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study referred from records of patients hospitalized for acute pancreatitis in the Department of General and Digestive Surgery of the Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital in Burkina Faso from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2012.

RESULTS

We noted 30 cases of acute pancreatitis, a frequency of 0.46 % of hospitalizations and an annual incidence of 4.6 cases per year. There were 22 men. The average age was 42.7 years. Alcohol consumption was found in 56.7%. The clinical aspects were dominated by abdominal pain (100%). Lipasemia was more than three times normal values in 66.3% of cases. An abdominal ultrasound was performed in 26.7% of cases and an abdominal CT was carried out in 50% of cases. The Balthazar score was evaluated in 15 patients and was lower in stage C in 9 cases. The treatment was mainly medical. The evolution was marked by the occurrence of systemic complications in 40% of patients and one death was recorded.

CONCLUSION

Patients suffering from financial hardships present a major handicap for the diagnosis and early treatment.

[The bacterial microflora of diabetic foot infection and factors determining its spectrum in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)]

The aim of the study was to describe the bacterial microflora of diabetic foot infection and to identify the factors which determine the bacterial spectrum in order to increase empiric antibiotic prescription in Ouagadougou. The study was a cross-sectional one, carried from July 1st, 2011 to June 30, 2012 in the departments of internal medicine and general and digestive surgery in Yalgado Ouédraogo teaching hospital. Samples for bacteriological tests consisted of aspiration of pus through the healthy skin, curettage and swab of the base of the ulceration or tissue biopsy from foot lesions. The bacteria's sensitivity to antibiotics has been tested by the qualitative method (Kirby-Bauer). The frequency of diabetic foot infection was 14.45% and the monthly incidence 5.33. The mean age of patients was 56 years and the sex ratio 1.37. Foot ulcerations were chronic in 33 (51.56%), necrotic in 51 (79.69%) and associated with osteitis in 40 (62.5%) patients. Infection was grade 3 in 70.3% cases. Thirty-nine patients had received antibiotics before hospital admission. Among the 71 samples, 62 (87.32%) cultures were positive: 53 (85.48%) monomicrobial and 9 (14.52%) bimicrobial. Aerobic Gram-positive cocci (76%) were the most frequent from ulcerations: Staphylococcus aureus (32.39%), Streptococcus sp (18.30%). Negative coagulase staphylococci have been found in 23.94% cases. Aerobic gram-negative bacilli have been isolated from 24% ulcerations. No factor was associated with the type of bacteria. Gram-positive pathogen cocci showed a high sensitivity to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and oxacillin. No methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or extended-spectrum beta lactamase Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL) have been isolated. A better design is necessary to a clarification of bacterial flora in diabetic foot infections. Prevention of bacterial resistance is also needed.

[Epidemiology of neonatal surgical emergencies in Ouagadougou]

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of neonatal surgery emergencies and to highlight the main causes and difficulties related to better handling of these emergencies.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We conducted a 1-year descriptive prospective study from September 2009 to September 2010 based on 102 cases collected. At admission, we studied the patients' age, the pathologies encountered, the related malformations, the terms for better management, and prognosis.

FINDINGS

In 1 year, we registered 102 cases of neonatal surgical emergencies affecting the digestive tract (63.7%), the anterior side of the abdomen (24.5%), trauma (6.7%), and tumors (2%). Males comprised 60.8% of the cases. The sex-ratio was 1.55. The frequency of such cases was 3.94%. The average age of patients was 5 days with the 0- to 5-day-old age group presenting most frequently. The average hospitalization lasted 2.75 days and the admission method was the reference in 75.5%. Congenital pathology accounted for 95.5% of cases with anorectal malformations (ARM) (35; 95%) and omphaloceles (28.1%). Hirschsprung disease was the main cause of bowel obstruction other than ARM (50%). The average time to surgery was about 2.54 days. The overall mortality of neonatal surgical emergencies was 30.3% and postoperative mortality 32.35%. The late consultation, poverty, a shortage of qualified staff, prematurity, low birth weight, congenital disease, and related malformations were the leading factors of a poor prognosis. Acquisition of effective technical means, staff training, measures to combat poverty, and better prenatal care would improve the management of neonatal surgical emergencies.

CONCLUSION

Neonatal surgical emergencies include conditions that require immediate and adequate support. The continuous training of healthcare workers at all levels in the detection of neonatal emergencies and equipping healthcare facilities are an absolute necessity to provide better management and reduce the mortality rate.

[Urachal cyst: contribution of ultrasound (about a case at Sourou Sanou Sobo-Dioulasso university hospital)]

Urachal cyst is difficult to diagnose and is a rare malformation and the authors report a case in a 10-month old boy. The malformation was associated with posterior urethral valve and simple surgical treatment was successful. The authors emphasize the contribution of perineal ultrasound in the diagnosis of associated posterior urethral valves.