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Biomedical subjects

K Koffi

Publications and source records attributed to K Koffi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Systematic serologic detection of treponema at the antivenereal centre of the National Institute of Public Health in Abidjan (Côte-d'Ivoire), from 1994 to 1999].

We conducted a medical records review on 11,662 patients consulting the antivenereal clinic of Treichville from 1994 to 1999. The main objective of the study was to analyse the data from systematic screening of syphilis in this specialized centre for sexual transmitted infection. The results of this study were: 162 (1.39%) patients had active syphilis; we noticed a decreasing incidence of syphilis during the last six years, 98.77% of the patients had symptoms of sexual transmitted diseases that did not directly evoke syphilis. In summary we can say that syphilis remains an important problem in the sexually transmitted infections consultation. The screening of syphilis must continue and needs to be extended to other services, because of the high frequency of asymptomatic forms and the existence of severe complications.

Adolescent↗

[Direct sputa examination limits in tuberculosis active detection in 200 immigrant candidates in United States of America].

The Côte-d'Ivoire Pasteur Institute unit of Tuberculous and Nontuberculous Mycobacteria carried out 600 smears stained by Ziehl-Neelsen in 200 immigrant candidates for the U.S.A. The sputa of 44 of them were put in culture on Lowenstein-Jensen medium. Eight (4%) candidates had active pulmonary tuberculosis among whom 5 had smear negative sputum. The pulmonary tuberculosis active detection performed on target population with accessible and sensitive tool can contribute to strengthen the fight against tuberculosis in endemic areas.

Adolescent↗

[Awareness, attitudes, and practices of secondary school students in relation to HIV/AIDS in Abidjan, Ivory Coast].

In May 2001, we conducted a descriptive transversal survey with a single data collection phase in 13 schools in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the awareness, attitudes, and practices of teenagers with regard to HIV/AIDS. Most respondents (66.5%) were female. Mean age was 16.32 years (range, 13 to 19 years). Most respondents stated that they had heard about AIDS and demonstrated good factual knowledge. The most frequently mentioned method of prevention was condom use (89.2%). A total of 338 (56.1%) had already experienced sexual intercourse. However most sexually active respondents stated that they did no always use condoms.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Human pentastomiasis discovered postmortem.

The autopsy of an 18-year-old girl who had died suddenly at home revealed generalised pentastomiasis. The location of this disease in the intestines was responsible for death by hemorrhagic enterocolitis. This discovery constituted an atypical case in our daily practice of forensic medicine.

Adolescent↗

Sudden death caused by parasites: postmortem cerebral malaria discoveries in the african endemic zone.

This survey presents several cases of sudden deaths in Africa, specifically in Cote d'Ivoire, where the postmortem diagnosis of human cerebral malaria was determined after autopsy followed by pathologic examination of the brain. It is thought that cerebral malaria may be the primary cause of sudden death in nonimmunized persons during or after traveling in such endemic areas of Africa. The target population is composed of tourists, business travelers, and sailors. Because death caused by cerebral malaria occurs so suddenly, it can lead to forensic issues. Therefore, in any cases involving sudden death, it is very important for the forensic scientist to do a systematic evaluation, including pathologic examination of brain tissue, to rule in or exclude cerebral malaria. This practice will reinforce and aid research in progress directed at developing a vaccine and elucidating the role of tumor necrosis factor in this disease. Furthermore, this study will alert the physician to the importance of an effective and well-followed prophylaxis.

Adult↗

[Isolated palpebral tumor revealing Von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis: a case report].

INTRODUCTION: Von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis is the most frequent of phakomatoses. Its incidence is 1/2,500-3,000 births. It is inherited through a dominant autosomal mode with a strong prevalence and changing expression. Eye and skin signs are essential to diagnosis and this case provided a noteworthy example of a unilateral upper palpebral tumor revealing this disease. CLINICAL CASE: We report a case of a 6-year-old boy whose original clinical manifestation was a tumor on the upper eyelid of the right eye, present at birth. According to the anamnesis, this palpebral tumor gradually increased in size, causing a full ptosis. A biopsy exeresis of the tumor was carried out with an anatomicopathological study of the biopsy specimen, confirming the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The anatomicopathological study of the biopsy specimen enabled diagnosis of a neurofibromatosis revealed by this isolated palpebral localization responsible for significant aesthetic and functional damage.

Biopsy↗

[Value and limits of microscopy of exudates in Mycobacterium ulcerans cutaneous infection in Côte d'Ivoire].

The objective of this study was to estimate the interest and the limits of skin exudate microscopy for patients with chronic ulceration with clinically suspected Buruli's ulcer and living in an endemic area in Côte d'Ivoire. Two stained smears, one with Ziehl-Neelsen and the other Dugomier staining, were produced from 140 samples obtained after a swab of skin lesions. The positive smear rate for the acid fast bacilli (AFB) was respectively 16.4% and 12.9% for Dugomier and Ziehl-Neelsen staining. The ulceration with less than one year of evolution have high AFB rates of 15.8% for Ziehl-Neelsen staining and 21.1% for Dugomier's. Microscopic examination of skin exudate in face of ulceration, clinically suspected to be a Buruli's ulcer is not the best tool for biological diagnosis, due to poor technical sensibility. Nevertheless, it remains a good first means of investigation in an endemoepidemic area.

Cote d'Ivoire↗

[Medullary compression by Burkitt lymphoma. Analysis of 7 cases].

OBJECTIVES: Burkitt's lymphoma is one of the possible cause of spinal cord compression. We defined the surgical approach in this rare localization of Burkitt's lymphoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We report 7 cases of spinal cord compression secondary to Burkitt's lymphoma treated at the Yopougon University Hospital from October 1990 to October 1994. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 15.4 years, range 8 to 28 years. Five of the 7 patients were children. Surgery was both a diagnostic and therapeutic emergency in this rare but serious localization of Burkitt's disease, which remains highly chemosensitive. CONCLUSION: Surgical management is warranted if Burkitt's lymphoma is revealed by spinal cord compression or if there is a primary spinal epidural localization.

Adolescent↗

[Epilepsy disclosing cancer of the kidney].

Cerebral metastases of renal cell carcinoma are not rare, but metastasis which reveal the primary tumor are uncommon. The authors report a case of a 53-year-old woman who presented with renal cell carcinoma revealed by epileptic fit.

Brain Neoplasms↗

[Malignant melanoma in the Ivory Coast. Epidemiologic and histo-prognostic aspects. Report of 195 cases].

Malignant melanomas (MM) are rare tumors of very bad prognosis. Few studies have precised the anatomopathological aspects and prognosis of these tumors in Africa and especially in Côte d'Ivoire. This has prompted us to review 195 cases of MM diagnosed in our laboratories in order to precise their epidemiological and anatomical features. Biopsies and/or surgical specimens fixed in 10% buffered formalin have been studied using the paraffin embedding methods and staining with hematoxylin and eosin, Masson's trichrome and Fontana. 117 men (60%) and 78 women (40%) with a medium age of 57 years were studied. Cutaneous MM were predominant (174 cases, 93%) with 57.8% located on the foot. Non classified (38.2%) and nodular (33.6%) forms were more frequent with only 19% of acral lentiginous melanomas. The prognosis of our cases was poor with 71% of levels IV or V according to Clark and Mihm, Breslow's thickness superior to 3 mm in 93% of cases and ulceration in 91.3%. Our study emphasizes the poor prognosis of MM in Côte d'Ivoire. These tumors are frequent in the elderly and located predominantly on the foot.

Adolescent↗

Primary resistance to antituberculosis drugs: a national survey conducted in Côte d'Ivoire in 1995-1996. Ivoirian Study Group on Tuberculosis Resistance.

SETTING: A national survey of resistance to the antituberculosis drugs used in Côte d'Ivoire was conducted in 1995-1996. OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of primary resistance to antituberculosis drugs. METHODS: Consecutive new tuberculous patients with positive smear were recruited from tuberculosis centres and rural health centres. Drug susceptibility testing was performed according to the proportion method. Positive cultures were tested against streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampicin, and ethambutol. All resistant strains and 10% of all randomly sampled cultures were sent to an external laboratory for quality control. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests were performed for consenting patients at the tuberculosis centres. RESULTS: Among the 430 samples, 320 were available for analysis. Primary resistance to antituberculosis drugs was observed for 13.4% of the patients (43/320); multidrug resistance (to at least isoniazid and rifampicin) was observed for 5.3% of the patients; 14.2% of HIV-negative and 16.2% of HIV-positive patients were resistant to at least one antituberculosis drug (P = 0.70). CONCLUSION: This study is representative of antituberculosis drug resistance in Côte d'Ivoire. The rate of primary resistance is high and emphasises the need for a sentinel survey of tuberculous resistance. The National Tuberculosis Control Programme needs to make improvements in its management of tuberculosis cases.

Adolescent↗

Distribution of measles virus in the central nervous system of HIV-seropositive children.

In an autopsy study the distribution of measles virus (MV) in the central nervous system (CNS) of 18 measles-infected children (13 HIV seropositive, 5 HIV seronegative), in Abidjan, Ivory Coast was examined using immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. Of these children 17 died from measles giant cell pneumonia. In 3 of the 13 HIV-seropositive patients MV antigens and genomic RNA was detected in the CNS. One of these positive patients had an MV encephalitis with abundant virus throughout most of the CNS. MV was not detected in the CNS of any of the 5 HIV-seronegative patients. These findings, albeit in a small number of cases, would suggest there may be an increased susceptibility to infection of the CNS with MV in HIV-positive children. In this respect entry and growth of MV in the CNS in HIV-seropositive individuals may be similar to the occurrence of measles inclusion body encephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. Furthermore, comparison of the HIV-MV encephalitis patient with two patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) demonstrated a paucity of virus in neuronal processes in the HIV-MV encephalitis. Unlike in SSPE, MV maturation by budding through the plasma membrane may occur, thereby minimizing build up of and intracellular movement of incomplete virus.

Adult↗

[Histoplasma capsulatum histoplasmosis: apropos of 1 case observed in the internal medicine department of the CHU of Treichville (Abidjan)].

The advent of AIDS has resulted in an increase in diseases which were previously rare. In HIV-infected subjects, histoplasmosis takes a disseminated and particularly severe form, with a fatal outcome in our country, the more so because the clinical presentation resembles tuberculosis and is generally treated as such. The authors report a case of disseminated histoplasmosis in a patient dually-reactive to HIV-1 and HIV-2, in whom the clinical presentation was fever, mediastinal lymphadenopathy and pulmonary infiltrates. The diagnosis of histoplasmosis was made at autopsy.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

The neuropathology of HIV-infected African children in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

In an autopsy study of HIV-infected children in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the neuropathology of 76 HIV-1- and 2 HIV-2-positive children was compared with that of 77 frequency-matched HIV-negative children, in whom the systemic pathology was also known. Seventy of the 78 HIV-seropositive children were confirmed as HIV-infected, as determined by combined serology, IgA Western blots and clinicopathological criteria. The HIV-negative children showed a high background level (n = 49, 64%) of neuropathological abnormalities, including nonspecific inflammatory infiltrates, micromineralization, and bacterial and lymphocytic meningitis. In the HIV-positive children, HIV encephalitis was found in 4 (6%), cytomegalovirus in 2 (3%), toxoplasmosis in 3 (4%) and measles encephalitis in one (1%). Bacterial meningitis was equally common in both groups, but cerebral malaria was less common (n = 2, 3%) in HIV-positive than in HIV-negative children (n = 11, 14%). The low prevalence of HIV encephalitis may reflect comparatively early death in HIV infection in Africa as compared with our experience in Europe and the US.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Disease in children infected with HIV in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

OBJECTIVE: To document the range of disease in African children infected with HIV. DESIGN: Necropsy results in consecutive children aged 1 month or more who were HIV positive and in children who were HIV negative for comparison; IgA western blots on serum samples from children under 2 years of age who were positive for HIV-1 to test the validity of routine HIV serology. SETTING: Largest hospital in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. SUBJECTS: 78 children who were HIV positive and 77 children who were HIV negative on whom a necropsy was performed; their median ages at death were 18 and 21 months respectively. 36 HIV positive children and 29 HIV negative children were 1-14 months old; 42 HIV positive and 48 HIV negative children were > or = 15 months old. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cause of death and prevalence of diseases confirmed pathologically. RESULTS: Respiratory tract infections were more common in HIV positive than in HIV negative children (73 (94%) v 52 (68%); P < 0.05), and were aetiologically heterogeneous. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was found in 11 out of 36 (31%) HIV positive children aged < 15 months, but in no HIV negative children. Among older children measles was more common in HIV positive children (8/42 (19%) v 2/48 (4%); P < 0.06). Pyogenic meningitis was present in similar proportions of HIV positive and HIV negative children aged < 15 months (7/36 (19%) and 7/29 (24%)). In HIV positive children tuberculosis (1/78), lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis (1/78), and HIV encephalitis (2/78) were rare. CONCLUSIONS: There is greater overlap between diseases associated with HIV infection and other common health problems in African children than there is in adults. Compared with adults, HIV positive children had a high prevalence of P carinii pneumonia and a low prevalence of tuberculosis. Measles, but not malaria, was associated with HIV infection.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗

Effect of methodology on detection of HIV-1/HIV-2 dual infections in Côte d'Ivoire.

Dual seroreactivity to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) types 1 and 2 is common in Côte d'Ivoire. To assess whether dual infection is the reason for dual seroreactivity, different methods for detection of HIV-1 and HIV-2 viruses were compared. PCR on primary uncultured lymphocytes of 56 dually seropositive samples revealed the presence of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 proviral DNA in 23 (41%) cases. In 7 other dual seropositive persons, PCR was carried out on the primary lymphocytes as well as on lymphocytes after 3 and 6 weeks of cocultivation. More cultures, 5/7 (71%), were positive for both viruses at 3 weeks compared to 0/7 at 6 weeks post cultivation. Moreover, 2 out of 3 samples, where only HIV-1 was detected in uncultured cells, were positive for both viruses after 3 weeks of cultivation. These data indicate that the sensitivity of HIV-2 detection can be increased by stimulation of patients' lymphocytes. A higher number of dual seropositive individuals (10/23 (48%)) had antibodies able to neutralize simultaneously both HIV-1 and HIV-2 prototype viruses than did HIV-1 antibody-positive sera (5/21 (24%)) or HIV-2 antibody positive sera (3/18 (17%)). The prevalence of dual seropositives being infected with both viruses is highly dependent on the method used to detect infection. There is a need to standardize virological markers in order to gain a better insight into the relative proportions of HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1/HIV-2 dually infected persons.

Antibody Specificity↗

Isolation of simian immunodeficiency viruses from two sooty mangabeys in Côte d'Ivoire: virological and genetic characterization and relationship to other HIV type 2 and SIVsm/mac strains.

OBJECTIVE: To search for the presence of SIV in sooty mangabeys and other monkey species in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, and to compare viral isolates with HIV-2 strains from the same region. METHODS: Forty-three captive housed monkeys (28 African green monkeys, 6 sooty mangabeys, 6 baboons, and 6 patas monkeys) were tested for the presence of HIV and SIV antibodies. Virus was isolated from the peripheral blood lymphocytes of seropositive animals and from HIV-2 antibody-positive patients originating from Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, and Belgium. Viruses were characterized by Western blot and radioimmunoprecipitation assay. Proviral DNA was amplified by PCR, cloned, and sequenced to construct a phylogenetic tree. RESULTS: One African green monkey and three sooty mangabeys had antibodies that cross-reacted with HIV-2. From two mangabeys lentiviruses were isolated and designated as SIVsmCI2 and SIVsmCI8. Serological, virological, and sequence data showed that these isolates are members of the HIV-2/SIVsm/SIVmac group of primate lentiviruses. Furthermore, in the phylogenetic tree, these two new viruses form a distinct subgroup that is equidistant to the HIV-2 strains and the previously described SIVsm/SIVmac viruses. CONCLUSION: This study provides additional evidence that sooty mangabey monkeys can be infected with a lentivirus in their natural habitat. Within the SIVsm and SIVmac viruses extensive genetic variation is observed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗