Aims: To study the epidemiological aspects, diagnosis and outcome of tuberculosis in children infected with HIV at the University Hospital Pediatric Charles de Gaulle, Ouagadougou.
Material and methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of children under 15 years followed from 2002 to 2008 for HIV infection.
Results: The incidence of tuberculosis was 5.5%. The average patient age was 5 years with a female predominance of 63.6%. Prolonged fever, chronic cough and weight loss were the main reasons for consultation. Pulmonary tuberculosis was the most frequent clinical form with 11 cases. The contribution of the direct smear was low: 13.6%. At the radiological images of miliary (36.4%) were the most frequently encountered followed by non-parenchymal opacities systematized (31.8%). The lethality of co-infection TB-HIV was 18.2%. The prognostic factors were younger age, severe immunosuppression and orphan status or total mother.
Conclusion: Early detection of HIV infection in children and the capacity of TB diagnosis should improve the management of co-infection in a pediatric setting.