Epidemiology and medical cost of hospitalization due to rotavirus gastroenteritis among children under 5 years of age in the central-east of Tunisia.

Data on the economic burden of rotavirus infection in Tunisia are needed to inform the decision to include rotavirus in routine childhood immunizations. This study aimed to describe the epidemiological profile of rotavirus disease in central-east Tunisia and to estimate its hospital cost. In the first stage - the prospective collection of epidemiological data - we enrolled all patients < 5 years old who were hospitalized for acute diarrhoea at 5 university paediatric departments in central-east Tunisia during the period 2009-2011.

Molecular diagnosis of distal renal tubular acidosis in Tunisian patients: proposed algorithm for Northern Africa populations for the ATP6V1B1, ATP6V0A4 and SCL4A1 genes.

Background: Primary distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) caused by mutations in the genes that codify for the H + -ATPase pump subunits is a heterogeneous disease with a poor phenotype-genotype correlation. Up to now, large cohorts of dRTA Tunisian patients have not been analyzed, and molecular defects may differ from those described in other ethnicities. We aim to identify molecular defects present in the ATP6V1B1, ATP6V0A4 and SLC4A1 genes in a Tunisian cohort, according to the following algorithm: first, ATP6V1B1 gene analysis in dRTA patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) or unknown hearing status.

[Epidemiology of rotavirus gastroenteritis among children under 5 years of age in Tunisia - results of sentinel hospital surveillance 2009 to 2011].

Background: Rotavirus is the major cause of severe acute gastroenteritis among young children. The objectives of this study were to assess the epidemiology, clinical and virological features of community-acquired rotavirus acute gastroenteritis, in children under 5 years of age, hospitalized in Tunisia.

Methods: A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted from April 2009 to March 2011, in 11 sentinel pediatric departments.

Pyogenic sacroiliitis in children: two case reports.

Pyogenic sacroiliitis is rare and accounts for approximately 1-2% of osteoarticular infections in children. Considerable delay between presentation and diagnosis is recognized. Two cases of pyogenic sacroiliitis are described.

Brain MRI and biological diagnosis in five Tunisians MLD patients.

Unlabelled: Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a recessive autosomal disease which is characterized by an accumulation of sulfatides in the central and peripheral nervous system. It is due to the enzyme deficiency of the sulfatide sulfatase i.e.