Mortality as a result of retinoblastoma remains high in our region because diagnosis is always late and it is difficult to follow-up the patients. Education of healthcare workers and raising awareness in the general population would improve the survival rate of retinoblastoma patients in Africa.

Neonatal mortality remains very high in Mali. Health authorities should take measures to decentralize the care of sick newborns in order to reduce neonatal mortality in Mali.

Neonatal surgical emergencies are common causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study was to access epidemiological, clinical and prognostic characteristics of newborns hospitalized for surgical emergencies. Material and Methods: We conducted a one-year prospective study from January 1 st , 2016 to December 31 st , 2016 in the neonatology service in the Pediatric Department of Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital in Bamako, the capital city of Mali. All neonates from 0 to 28 days hospitalized for a surgical emergency were included. Results: One hundred and fourteen cases of surgical emergencies were recorded, i.e. 3% of hospitalizations. The average maternal age was 24 years old. Sex ratio was 1.1. The average consultation time was 7.5 days. In 55% of cases, newborns were premature. The antenatal diagnosis was made in 7 patients. Congenital malformation pathology accounted for 92.98% of ailments. Digestive diseases predominated with 72.9%. These were mainly omphalocele (17.5%), anorectal malformations (13.2%), and laparochisis (12.3%). Hirshprung's disease was found in two newborns (1.8%). Surgery was performed in 59 neonates (51.8%). The per and postoperative lethality was 55.26%. The overall case fatality rate was 49.1%. The most lethal pathology was laparoshisis (100%). Factors associated with mortality were maternal insctruction level (p = 0.00), vaginal delivery (p = 0.01), and laparoschisis (p = 0.000). Conclusion: A real policy by the health authorities to reduce mortality related to neonatal surgical pathologies is needed.

Introduction: Acute post-infectious glomerulonephritis (APIGN) can be serious due to its complications that still occur in our countries. In this work, we aimed to study the epidemiological, clinical, biological and evolutionary aspects of APIGN. Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study from January 1 st , 2015 to December 31 st , 2017 in the pediatric ward of the Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital in Bamako. All children hospitalized for APIGN were included. Results: In two years, we included 10 children aged 7 years old on average; all from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The sex ratio was 1.5. On average, the children spent 15.8 days before our consultation. Edema was the main reason for consultation. We found a history of infection and high blood pressure in 30% each, and renal failure in 10% of the children. Hematuria and proteinuria were detected in 100% and 90%, respectively. Hypocomplementemia was observed in 66.6%. One third of the children had a positive antistreptolysin O. The average duration of hospital stay was 11.2 days. The evolution was favorable in 90%. Kidney failure was the leading cause of death. Conclusion: Acute post-infectious glomerulonephritis is still a reality in our context. Emphasis should be put on its prevention by improving the hygienic conditions, detection and the management of infections.

Introduction: Children's heart disease is a major public health problem in developing countries and especially in Mali. The purpose of our work was to determine frequency, different types of heart disease and their short term evolution in the pediatric department. Methods: We performed a retrospective study among children aged 0 to 15 years, hospitalized in the pediatric department from January to December 2015 and whose diagnosis was confirmed using trans-thoracic echocardiography. Results: We included 103 cases of heart disease out of a total of 8613 admissions in the pediatric department, giving an hospital prevalence of 1.2%. Mean age was 4.1 years (from 1 day to 15 years) and children under 5 years were the most affected with 73.80% of cases. Male predominance was noted (sex ratio = 1.2). Respiratory distress was the most common circumstance of discovery (93.20%). Cardiac murmur and tachycardia were the most common cardiac signs with respectively 88.35% and 83.50%. Congenital heart disease accounted for 70.87% and was dominated by ventricular septal defect (VSD) with 30.13%. Acquired heart disease (29.13% of the sample) was dominated by mitral regurgitation (MR) with 56.67%. Mortality rate was 31.9% for congenital heart disease and 11.1% for acquired heart disease. Conclusion: children's heart disease is responsible for high mortality. Early detection improves the management of this pathology, which remains frequent.

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Pneumonia is the most common cause of mortality in child under five years of age. The objective of the study was to assess socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of children under 5 hospitalized for pneumonia. Material and method: We conducted a 6 months prospective study from June 1 st , 2016 to December 31 st , 2016 in the general pediatric service in the Pediatric Department of Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital in Bamako, the capital city of Mali. Result: We have selected 63 cases of pneumonia according to our definition criteria, i.e. 2.2% of hospitalizations for children aged 1 to 59 months. The average age was 14 months. Infants under 2 years accounted for 82.53%. The sex ratio was 1.2. Seventy eight percent came from an unfavorable socioeconomic background. The majority of mothers were uneducated (71.42%). Breastfeeding was exclusive up to 6 months in 50.79% of patients. Vaccination according to the national program was not up to date in 27% of patients. The average consultation time was 18 days. On admission, 81% of the patients had a fever, 93.64% had a tachypnea and 58.73% had crackling rales at pulmonary auscultation. Hypoxemia was present in 58.73%. Severe anemia was present in 79.36%. Radiologically, opacity was found in 42 patients (66.66%). The blood culture was positive in 8.3%. Beta-lactams were first-line prescribed in all patients. The case fatality rate was 9.52%. The factors associated with mortality were age less than 14 months (p = 0.08), adverse socioeconomic conditions (p = 0.0003) and the presence of hypoxemia at the entrance (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Pneumonia remains major cause of morbidity and mortality in our context. Emphasis should be put on preventive measures.

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