Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026
A Tuberculosis Molecular Bacterial Load Assay (TB-MBLA)
Published on: April 30, 2020
[Child tuberculosis at the teaching hospital of Brazzaville from 1995 to 2003]
A B M'Pemba Loufoua-Lemay1, J M Youndouka, B Pambou
1Service de pédiatrie grands enfants, CHU de Brazzaville, BP 32, République du Congo. doclemay@yahoo.fr
Insights
Tuberculosis is a significant health concern, with rates increasing in Brazzaville. Sickle cell disease patients showed lower tuberculosis prevalence but similar clinical presentations compared to controls.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Hematology
Context:
- A decade-long study (1995-2003) in Brazzaville examined tuberculosis frequency and clinical aspects in hospitalized children.
- The study focused on children with sickle cell disease compared to those without, considering the impact of HIV/AIDS and socio-economic factors.
Purpose:
- To determine the frequency of tuberculosis among children with sickle cell disease.
- To compare the clinical and paraclinical characteristics of tuberculosis in sickle cell patients versus non-sickle cell patients.
- To investigate the influence of HIV/AIDS and socio-economic factors on tuberculosis incidence.
Summary:
- Tuberculosis rates in Brazzaville increased significantly between 1995 and 2003, exacerbated by war and HIV/AIDS prevalence.
- Tuberculosis prevalence was lower in sickle cell patients (7.4%) than in control patients (14.2%), despite similar clinical and paraclinical findings.
- Pulmonary tuberculosis was common in both groups, with pleuritis more frequent in controls. Anergia to tuberculin testing was higher in sickle cell patients.
Impact:
- Highlights the substantial burden of tuberculosis in pediatric hospitalizations in Brazzaville.
- Underscores the complex interplay between sickle cell disease, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and socio-economic instability.
- Provides insights into tuberculosis presentation and diagnosis challenges in vulnerable pediatric populations.
Abstract:
In the paediatric service of the teaching hospital of Brazzaville, 582 files of children hospitalized were studied from January 1995 to December 2003. To determine tuberculosis frequency among sickle cell children and estimate the clinical and paraclinical aspects, a case-control study of tubercular patients with HIV negative serology was carried out by comparing at the same time a cohort of 75 sickle cell patients versus 125 patients without sickle cell disease. The results of these studies are as follows. The main assessment is the high frequency of tuberculosis. In 1995 the tuberculosis rate reaches 8%, in 2003 it was up to 13.6%, and 20.6% in 2000 due to the serious consequences of the recurrent wars between 1993 and 1999. Another cause of that high frequency is the rate of HIV/aids patients with a frequency of 2.5% of hospitalization ranging from 1.6 to 3.2%, among them 35% of the tubercular patients were seropositive. The tuberculosis prevalence was 7.4% among sickle cell patients versus 14.2% among control patients. Infection was more often identified in control patients (51.2%) than in sickle cell patients (24%). 68% of the parents were really poor and 18.5% of the children were evicted from their home by war. The pulmonary localizations were prevailing in groups of patients with sickle cell disease as well as in group of control patients. Pleuritis was observed in 8% of the patients with sickle cell disease versus 16.8% for control patients (P = 0.02). No patient with sickle cell disease had a miliary. Anergia to tuberculin test was reported in 35.8% sickle cell patients versus 10.4% for the control patients (P = 0.001). Tuberculosis prevalence is higher among control patients than in sickle cell patients. The high proportion of clinical and paraclinical data of tuberculosis did not significantly differ from the two groups. Evolution was good for 98% of the patients, 1.4% of them died; 74% of deceased patients were affected by HIV/aids.
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