[Seroprevalence of cysticercosis and associated risk factors in a group of patients examined at the Regional Referral Hospital in Antsirabe].

Introduction: In Madagascar, cysticercosis, a disease caused by Taenia Solium's larval form, is a public health problem. In 2003, the seroprevalence of cysticercosis ranged between 7% and 21% with a higher rate in the central regions of the island. However, epidemiological data on human cysticercosis have been limited over the last dozen years.

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus serologic markers in pregnant patients in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Background And Objectives: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem in Madagascar. Its severity is related to the risk of chronicity, especially in case of neonatal contamination. Our objectives were to investigate the prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant patients at the Befelatanana obstetrics and gynecology teaching hospital department (BOGTH) by detecting HBsAg and to evaluate the risk of HBV mother to child transmission by screening for HBeAg.

Viral and atypical bacterial etiology of acute respiratory infections in children under 5 years old living in a rural tropical area of Madagascar.

Background: In Madagascar, very little is known about the etiology and prevalence of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in a rural tropical area. Recent data are needed to determine the viral and atypical bacterial etiologies in children with defined clinical manifestations of ARIs.

Methods: During one year, we conducted a prospective study on ARIs in children between 2 to 59 months in the community hospital of Ampasimanjeva, located in the south-east of Madagascar.

Antileukemic and long-term effects of two regimens with or without TBI in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Between September 1986 and June 1997, 24 children with high-risk ALL in CR1 were allografted after TAM (fractionated TBI, high-dose Ara-C, and melphalan; n = 10) or BAM protocol (busulfan, high-dose Ara-C, and melphalan; n = 14). The EFS for transplants from sibling donors was 33% with TAM and 62% with BAM (P = 0.148).

Trends of AIDS in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) a longitudinal survey from 1988 to 1997.

The study objective was to describe morbidity and mortality from HIV infection and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Guadeloupe from 1988 to 1997 and to evaluate survival and prognostic factors. The HIV infected patients database of Guadeloupe included 1771 adult patients up to December 31, 1997. Annual incidence of AIDS defining illnesses was calculated and compared using Poisson regression.

Assessment of acyclovir intraindividual pharmacokinetic variability during continuous hemofiltration, continuous hemodiafiltration, and continuous hemodialysis.

The use of intravenous acyclovir can be particularly complicated in pediatric patients with evolving renal impairment, because of intraindividual pharmacokinetic variability linked to the patient's clinical condition. The objective of this study was to use therapeutic drug monitoring data to assess acyclovir intraindividual pharmacokinetic variability during several types of renal replacement therapy. Bayesian adaptive control of acyclovir dosage regimen was performed in a pediatric patient with bone marrow transplant who developed severe renal impairment.

[Dengue fever with neurologic expression. Three cases in adults].

Dengue fever, unlike most other arboviral diseases, does not usually cause encephalitis. However, neurologic symptoms with poor prognosis have been regularly reported, mostly in Asian children affected by the severe dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome, and attributed to a non specific, anoxic or metabolic encephalopathy. Recently, first isolations of dengue viruses from CSF or brain tissue, have renewed this concept.

[Tetraparesis in an infant after prolonged administration of pancuronium].

Long-term administration of pancuronium for ventilatory support of adults with ARDS may result in severe tetraparesis, with areflexia and atrophy of distal muscles. This adverse effect occurs rarely in paediatric intensive care units. We describe a case of tetraparesis after prolonged pancuronium infusion in a 9-month-old girl who experienced a severe bronchopneumonia caused by para-influenza virus, requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation.

[Primary hyperparathyroidism in 2 adolescents].

The authors report on two cases of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) in adolescents. In a 15-year-old boy, the clinical picture included skeletal, dental, renal and psychological manifestations. In the second case, the first symptom was urolithiasis at age 12; following a period without any important clinical event, the diagnosis was established when the patient was 18.

[3 pediatric cases of leptospirosis].

Three children presented with an association of pains, infectious syndrome, acute renal failure, hepatitis and meningitis, that lead to the diagnosis of leptospirosis. The clinical spectrum of this rare disease are recalled.

[Cerebrovascular accidents and sickle cell disease].

A 7 year-old girl, with homozygous sickle cell disease experienced two cerebrovascular strokes over an 8-month period. The diagnostic investigations were performed with highly sensitive imaging methods (MRI, angiography). Such a complication raises problems in curative and prophylactic treatment.

[The autopsy].

In France, Caillavet's law sets the conditions required for autopsy and organ removal. Despite the liberal conditions of this law, the autopsy rate is becoming rare. Other obstacles exist, in particular, religious beliefs in the case of islamic and jewish people.