Oesophageal atresia: Diagnosis and prognosis in Dakar, Senegal

BACKGROUND: Oesophageal atresia is a neonatal emergency surgery whose prognosis has improved significantly in industrialised countries in recent decades. In sub-Saharan Africa, this malformation is still responsible for a high morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to analyse the diagnostic difficulties and its impact on the prognosis of this malformation in our work environment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study over 4 years on 49 patients diagnosed with esophageal atresia in the 2 Paediatric Surgery Departments in Dakar. RESULTS: The average age was 4 days (0-10 days), 50% of them had a severe pneumonopathy. The average time of surgical management was 27 h (6-96 h). In the series, we noted 10 preoperative deaths. The average age at surgery was 5.7 days with a range of 1-18 days. The surgery mortality rate is 28 patients (72%) including 4 late deaths. CONCLUSION: The causes of death were mainly sepsis, cardiac decompensation and anastomotic leaks.