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Cahiers d'études et de recherches francophones / Santé

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Pleuropulmonary staphylococcal infection in infants, in a hospital environment in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) Volume 9, issue 4, Juillet-Août 1999

Authors
Service de pédiatrie, CHU de Ouagadougou, 03 BP 7022, Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso, 14, Croix-Rouges, 1007 Lausanne, Suisse.
  • Page(s) : 209-13
  • Published in: 2000

We observed 36 cases of pleuropulmonary staphylococcal infection (PPS) in infants aged 0 to 30 months, during a prospective study carried out between April 1st 1995 and March 31 1996 at the Pediatrics Department of Ouagadougou University Hospital. PPS accounted for 0.5% of all hospital admissions and 11.6% of all acute basal respiratory infections in children aged less than 30 months. Slightly more boys than girls were affected, with a sex ratio of 1.2. We identified the classic triad of symptoms: cough-fever-polypnea, associated with abdominal ballooning and a change in general condition. On X rays, the typical images showing parenchymatous bubbles were the second most frequent observation (27.8%) after parenchymatous opacities (69.5%). The most frequently used antibiotics were oxacillin (Bristopen®), gentamycin (Gentallin®) and cefuroxime-axetil (Zinnat®). The prognosis of PPS is poor, with a high mortality rate (27.8%) and a risk of pleural recurrence. Being very young, late hospitalization, malnutrition and leukopenia were identified as factors indicating a poor prognosis. Recygling of health care personnel for the management of acute respiratory infections, a decrease in malnutrition and an improvement in vaccination cover are essential if the mortality and morbidity of acute respiratory infections, and PPS in particular, are to be reduced.