Infantile Hemangiomas: Epidemio-Clinical Profile and Therapeutic Difficulties in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Introduction : Infantile haemangiomas are the most common benign vascular tumours of infants. In Western countries , they have been the subject of several studies. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, few works are devoted to them. We initiated this work to contribute to a better knowledge of infantile haemangiomas in our work context. Material and Methods : This is a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study carried out in the Dermatology Department of C.H.U. Treichville from November 2014 to December 2016; All children with infantile haemangiomas have been taken into account, in the study. Results : We counted 42 cases of haemangioma s on 4600 paediatric dermatoses, a prevalence of 0.9%. The sex ratio was 0.35. The age of our patients ranged from 2 days to 5 years. 76.2% of patients consulted after the age of 2 months. 26.9% of patients were born premature. 54% of the haemangiomas started with an erythematous macula. 52.4% had a size between 1 and 3 cm. Superficial haemangioma s (52.38%) and mixed haemangioma s (42.85%) were the most common clinical forms. The ulcerated forms represented 9.5%. The lesions were preferentially located in the cervico-facial region (71.4%) and resulted in aesthetic prejudice in 47% of cases. 3 patients (7.14%) were treated with propranolol. 37 patients (88.1%) used self-medication using poultice. Conclusion : Infantile haemangioma s are infrequent in Cote d’Ivoire. They sit mainly in the cervico-facial area. The ulcerated forms are not negligible and they sometimes cause a significant aesthetic prejudice. Their management is sometimes difficult because of the unavailability of propranolol .