Non-traumatic Abdominal Surgical Emergencies in Children in Dapaong (TOGO)

Introduction: Surgical abdominal emergencies in children are responsible for high morbidity and mortality. They are numerous and their management in Africa is difficult. The management of non-traumatic abdominal emergencies in children in a regional hospital in Togo is described. Method: and study setting: This was a single-center, retrospective and descriptive study conducted over a 12month period. It included all children aged 0-15 years treated at the hospital for non-traumatic abdominal surgical emergencies. Results: We reported 217 cases of non-traumatic abdominal surgical emergencies in children. We noted a male predominance with a sex ratio of 1.57. Similarly, grandchildren were predominant (44.70 %). A low school attendance rate was noted (21.20 %) and the children were mostly from poor families (32.72 %). The average consultation time was 5.3 +/- 1.03 days. Pain was the main symptom and was present in all children. An unprepared abdominal X-ray was the main imaging procedure performed (77.18 %). These conditions were dominated by peritonitis (56.68 %). These were mainly ileal perforations. All the children received surgical treatment. The postoperative course was marked by complications in 104 children (47,93 %) and 14 deaths (6,45 %). Conclusion: Non-traumatic abdominal surgical emergencies in children are dominated by peritonitis in rural Togo. They could be related to poverty. An effective policy of universal access to health care is essential.