[Respiratory diseases at hospitals in Brazzaville, Congo]

The authors has recorded all respiratory diseases encountered in the chest department of the University Hospital of Brazzaville, from January 1 to December 31, 1988. The case-records of 912 patients were involved in this study. Respiratory disease were found to be more frequent in men than in women. Tuberculosis ranked first (52.08%), followed by acute lung infections (32.65%) and asthma (5.15%). Malignant tumours were rare (1.53%). The incidence of HIV infection was high (10.51%), and this disease was often associated with tuberculosis (10.30%). Subjects in the 20-29 years age group were those most affected. The overall mortality rate was 13.48%. Mortality increased with age, exceeding 30% in patients over 60. Mortality rates were 15% in acute lung infections and 10% in tuberculosis.