TITLE:
Pneumothorax in Children: Epidemiological Diagnostic and Evolutionary Aspects at the Albert Royer National Children’s Hospital in Dakar
AUTHORS:
Guillaye Diagne, Khadim Bop, Papa Souleye Sow, Mohamed Mbodj, Serigne Tawa Ndiaye, Idrissa Demba Ba
KEYWORDS:
Pneumothorax, Drainage, Children, Dakar
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.13 No.5,
September
14,
2023
ABSTRACT: Pneumothorax is defined by the presence of air
between the parietal pleura and the visceral pleura. Most of the child’s
pneumothorax is traumatic. The spontaneous pneumothorax (PS) of the child is rare, and
often associated with a favoring factor. When it is large, it can affect the
life expectancy. The objective of our study was to determine the
epidemiological, diagnostic and evolutionary aspects of pneumothorax in
children aged 0 to 15 years, hospitalized at the Albert Royer National
Children’s Hospital in Dakar. This is a retrospective descriptive study of
patient records followed at the Albert Royer National Children’s Hospital
(CHNEAR) for the management of a pneumothorax during the period from 2020 to
2022. During our study, 15 patients were hospitalized for pneumothorax, with an
average annual incidence of 7.5 cases per year. The sex ratio (H/F) was 2.03.
The average age was 3.7 years. Chest pain was present in 27% of patients,
dyspnea was found in 93%, and cough in 87% of patients. All patients underwent chest radiography
and the location of the pneumothorax was predominant on the right in 60% of cases. Thoracic
drainage was performed in 93.3% of patients associated with etiological
treatment. The average length of hospitalization was 27.8 days with a cure rate
of 86.7% and a recurrence rate of 13.3%.