TITLE:
Phenotype and Epidemiological Profile of Children with Sickle Cell Disease Followed-Up at the Mother and Child Hospital of N’Djamena
AUTHORS:
Franck Houndjahoue, Silé Souam Nguele, Mbanga Djimadoum, Joséphine Toralta, Khadidja Attimer, Hagre Youssouf, Blaise Ayivi
KEYWORDS:
Sickle Cell Disease, Pediatrics, National Program, Chad
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.6 No.3,
September
14,
2016
ABSTRACT: In
Africa, sickle cell disease is still a public health issue. In Chad, a high prevalence
area, it may represent a silent disease. To study the quality of care provided to
children with sickle cell disease within the framework of a hospital initiative
launched in 2011 and in the absence of a national program in Chad, we conducted
this research in the pediatric sickle cell disease center of the Mother and Child
Hospital of N’Djamena. This was a cross-sectional study, involving 364 children
with sickle cell disease out of 12,500 children followed up from May 2011 to December
2014 (3.9%). The sex ratio was 1.3. The average age at diagnosis was 17 months,
often in the context of vaso-occlusive crisis (34.6%). The follow-up protocol included
monthly appointments following diagnosis of disease. We observed 80% non-compliance
among cases; characteristics associated with non-compliance included families with
several children, inaccessible anti-pneumococcal prophylaxis based on Penicillin
V and very low anti-pneumococcal vaccine coverage (4.4%). These results suggest
that there is a need to rapidly implement a national sickle cell disease program
including preventive and curative care in Chad.