A Study of the Performance of Health Districts in the Diagnosis of Acute Bacterial Meningitis within the Framework of Epidemiological Surveillance of Meningitis in Burkina Faso from 2015 to 2022

Introduction: In health districts in Burkina Faso, microscopic diagnosis of bacterial meningitis is essential for surveillance and rapid case management. This study aimed to study the concordance of microscopy results with those of PCR in health district laboratories during the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Methods: This was a retrospective study with a descriptive and analytical aim which involved 70 health districts attached to the 4 national level laboratories and the national meningitis reference laboratory (at the Charles De Gaulle Pediatric University Hospital) from 1 January, 2015 to 31 December, 2022. The data were collected based on data from the epidemiological surveillance of meningitis 2010 - 2022. The data collected were entered into Microsoft Excel version 2016 software and analyzed using Epi info version 7 software. Results: The study included 70 health districts with 4,078 suspected cases of meningitis. Males accounted for 56% of patients, and 34.39% of patients were between 29 days and 30 months of age. This study showed that 5 health districts performed very well, with an overall discordance of 0% and 10%, 32 health districts performed well, with an overall discordance of 10.1% and 25%, 26 health districts performed moderately well, with an overall discordance of 25.1% and 40%, 2 districts performed fairly well, with an overall discordance of 40.1% and 50%, and 5 districts performed poorly, with an overall discordance of 50.1% and 100%. Conclusion: The health districts are generally performing well, but capacity building among staff in some districts is necessary.