Abdominal Tuberculosis in Children at Chu/Jra and SALFA Andohalo Laboratories, Antananarivo from 2017 to 2022

Abdominal tuberculosis is one of the rare forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Its diagnosis is difficult to establish in children. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemioclinical and anatomopathological characteristics of this form of tuberculosis at two Laboratories of Anatomical and Cytology Pathological of the Joseph Ravoahangy Andrianavalona University Hospital Center and Sampan’Asa Loterana momban’ny Fahasalamana (SALFA) Andohalo. In a retrospective study spanning 6 years from 2017 to 2022, 14 cases of abdominal tuberculosis were collected in children under 15 years of age, representing 5.09 % of extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases. The mean age of the patients was 11.78 years with extremes of 7 to 15 years and a sex ratio of 1. Peritoneal localization was the most frequent (33.3%). Symptomatology was dominated by abdominal pain (77.8%). The histological lesion was typically tuberculoid granuloma centered by caseous necrosis in 88.9%. In conclusion, abdominal tuberculosis in children is rare, difficult to diagnose, requiring multidisciplinary consultation.