[The impact of HIV infection on childhood tuberculosis in Yaounde, Cameroon].

OBJECTIVES

To define the prevalence of HIV infection in childhood tuberculosis and investigate its impact on the clinical presentation, radiographic findings and outcomes among children suffering from tuberculosis in Yaounde.

METHODS

The medical records of 101 children aged less than 15years, hospitalized with tuberculosis in the chest clinic of the Yaounde Jamot Hospital between January 2005 and June 2010, were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

Twenty-five (24.8%) of the 101 patients were HIV positive. The occurrence of concomitant intrathoracic and extrathoracic tuberculosis was more frequently observed in HIV infected children (P=0.021). Parenchymal pulmonary lesions were bilateral in 20 (90.9%) of the HIV infected children against 31 (56.1%) in the non-infected children (P=0.003). Cavitating lesions were present in 49.1% of the cases in HIV negative group versus 13.6% in HIV positive group (P=0.004), but sub-group analysis restricted to those with confirmed tuberculosis no longer showed a significant difference. The success rate of treatment was 78.9% among HIV negative patients and 56% among HIV positive patients (P=0.024).

CONCLUSION

HIV infection modifies the clinical presentation and radiographic features of tuberculosis in children. The treatment success rate is lower in HIV positive children, indicating a stricter medical supervision of these children and more targeted education of their parents.