Background: The etiological diagnosis of pneumonia is often difficult because of the impossibility of microbiological confirmation most of the time. Therefore, chest X-ray is still essential for a positive diagnosis and etiological orientation. The main objective of our study was to describe the radiographic aspects of acute community-acquired pneumonia and tubercular pneumonia in children.Methods: This was a descriptive retrospective study conducted at the university hospital mother and child of Tsaralalana from January 1st to July 31st, 2017.Results: Sixty-nine cases of pneumonia were included, including 13 cases of TB pneumonia and 46 cases of acute community-acquired pneumonia. The average age was 36.68 months with a male predominance. Clinically, respiratory functional signs predominated in both cases. Alteration in general condition was mainly observed in tubercular pneumonia (26.08%). Alveolar syndromes were present in 43.47% of TB pneumonias and 36.94% of acute community-acquired pneumonia. With regard to the radiographic images, alveolar involvement was common to both types of pneumonia; the nodular image was present in 8.69% of the tubercular pneumonias and 2.17% of the acute community-acquired pneumonia; the cavity image was present only in the tubercular pneumonia (p=0.04); the right-sided location predominated in both cases.Conclusions: X-ray images were common to both TB pneumonia and acute community-acquired pneumonia; some images were specific to TB pneumonia. However, the etiologic orientation of pneumonia is based on a combination of epidemiologic, clinical, and radiographic evidence.

Background: Behaviour of healthcare providers when facing an illness is an important part of their struggle. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, the attitude and the practice of health care providers regarding to the Congenital Rubella Syndrome.Methods: Authors did a descriptive study on the knowledge, the attitude and the practice of healthcare providers about Congenital Rubella Syndrome with 161 healthcare providers working in 8 hospitals in Madagascar. A self-introduced survey was used to collect the data.Results: There were 87% of all healthcare providers included in the study, who said that rubella in the first trimester of pregnancy was the cause of this syndrome for child, 87% knew at least 2 of the 3 major signs of Congenital Rubella Syndrome and more than 80% had a good knowledge of the criteria for diagnosing cases (suspected, clinically confirmed, laboratory confirmed). The referral to a hospital or to a specialist was the most proposed for the management of the case of Congenital Rubella Syndrome. The prescription of an IgG avidity for rubella and advising abortion were the main propositions for mothers having a positive test at the first trimester of pregnancy.Conclusions: A fairly satisfactory level of knowledge of healthcare providers was noted.

Background: An increase in the number of children hospitalized for bronchiolitis has been observed on February to April over the past 5 years. This study aimed to describe the bronchiolitis characteristic during the 2019 epidemic as well as its management at the Tsaralalàna Teaching Hospital.Methods: This is a 3 months retrospective descriptive study, from February to April 2019, including all children diagnosed with bronchiolitis.Results: Bronchiolitis was diagnosed in 1704 children (40.1%) and 425(29.4%) were hospitalized. Severe bronchiolitis was found in 212 children (49.9%) which were aged under 3 months in 46.7%. Secondary bacterial infection was noted in 359 children (84.5%) and cardiac failure in 145 children (34.1%). Hypertonic saline 3% was prescribed at 76.4% of children.Conclusions: Younger infant under 3 months were the most frequently admitted in hospitalization. Severe or complicated bronchiolitis are predominant. Using a pediatric plan adapted to bronchiolitis epidemic may improve care of children.

Background: Neonatal bacterial infection is one of the leading causes of new-born morbidity and mortality. Bacterial ecology is not known in our unit, no study has been devoted to this subject. This work aimed to determine the germs responsible for neonatal bacterial infections and their level of sensitivity to the usual antibiotics.Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study conducted in the Neonatology Department from January 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019 (16 months) including all newborns under 29 days hospitalized during the study period and possessing positive bacteriological results regardless of the site of collection (blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid).Results: The diagnosis of neonatal infection was confirmed in 47 cases, i.e. 26.1% of suspicions of neonatal bacterial infection hospitalized during the study period. The female predominance was found with a sex ratio of 0.81. The most frequently isolated germs are, in order of frequency, coagulase-negative staphylococci (10 cases), Escherichia coli (7 cases), Enterobacter cloacae (5 cases), Klebsiella pneumoniae (5 cases) and Enterobacter aerogenes (5 cases). Of the 47 cases studied, 16 cases were multidrug-resistant infections including 7 cases i.e. 14.9% of nosocomial infections. The majority of Enterobacteria are strains producing broad spectrum beta lactamases (12 cases to 22). The molecules that remained effective were mainly Imipenem and Amikacin.Conclusions: Neonatal infection remains a real public health problem. The emergence of multi-resistant bacteria complicates the management. The knowledge of bacterial ecology on a wider population is an important asset in its prevention and management.

Background: Congenital rubella syndrome is the first congenital defect preventable by vaccination. The purpose of this study was to provide basic information on the extent and epidemiology of congenital rubella syndrome in Madagascar.Methods: A retrospective and descriptive study from January 2013 to May 2019 was conducted in 8 hospitals in 2 provinces of Madagascar, Antananarivo and Toliara. The study included children who attended the services selected during the study period and who had the following conditions: children aged of 0 to 59 months, regardless of vaccination status, meeting the World Health Organization clinical criteria for congenital rubella syndrome with or without biological confirmation.Results: Of the 152,304 cases of children of all ages who visited or were hospitalized during the study period, 112 clinically confirmed cases of congenital rubella syndrome were identified. The age group 0 to 11 months involved 60 children (53.6%). Congenital heart disease was found in 83.0% of cases, mental backwardness in 43.7% and microcephaly in 26.8%. Twenty-three among (20.5%) them died. The death was due to cardiac diseases in 16 children.Conclusions: Findings confirm that the diagnosis of congenital rubella syndrome is underestimated in current pediatric practice in Madagascar. The introduction of the rubella vaccine in the Expanded Program on Immunization and the implementation of an effective and sustainable surveillance system for congenital rubella syndrome in the country is a proved effective tool for the prevention of this disease.