Splenomegaly: Epidemiological, Clinical and Therapeutic Aspects in Children in the Pediatric Surgery in the General Surgery Department of Ignace Deen National Hospital

Abstract

The objective of this study was to contribute to the study of splenomegaly in children under the age of 15 in the Pediatric Surgery Unit of the General Surgery Department of Ignace Deen National Hospital. Methodology: This was a retrospective descriptive study lasting 5 years from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015 on children with splenomegaly in the pediatric surgery unit of the general surgery department of the hospital national Ignace-Deen. Results: Splenomegaly represented 1.24% of surgical pathologies during our study. Both sexes were concerned with a male predominance in 52.63%; the sex ratio was 1.11. The 10-14 age group was the most affected (47.37%); The average age of our cases was 9.5 years with extremes of 3 years and 15 years. Abdominal pain associated with an abdominal mass and fever were the main reasons for consultation (100%), followed by physical asthenia and anorexia (78.94%). 63.15% of our diagnosed cases were stage IV of the Hackett classification, followed by stage III (31.57%) and stage V (5.26%). Conclusion: Any palpable spleen must in fact be considered as pathological. The conditions causing splenomegaly are multiple in tropical countries, their frequency varies from one country to another.