[Schooling of the child and teenager suffering from sickle-cell disease in 2004, Brazzaville, Congo].
A case-control transversal study has been carried out in March 2004 in the paediatric unit of the Brazzaville teaching Hospital to assess the impact of the sickle cell disease on school-age children. School-age children and teenagers of both sex were distributed in 228 homozygote sickle cell children (group I) aged of 5 years old and 8 months old to 21 and 245 children recruited in state schools aged of 5 years old and 6 months to 19 years old. In the group I, 78 children suffering from sickle cell disease are ahead in their school achievement, 59 have a normal education and 91 meet some difficulties with no significant difference; in the group II, 122 children are ahead in their school achievement, 81 have a normal education and 42 meet difficulties (p < 0,001). The average of children having school difficulties was 2,4 +/- 1,5 years in the group I with extremes ranging from 1 to 3 years. By comparing both groups in primary school, no difference was to be found in children doing well at school and children having a normal education: 54 children of the group II are reported being ahead in their school achievement (39, 7%) and 81 children in the group II (55, 1%); normal education for 38 children of the group 1 (28%) and 58 children in the group II (39, 5%). On the other hand, 44 children are having school difficulties in the group I (32, 3%) against 8 children in the group II (5, 4%) (p < 0,001). As a matter of form we have observed that ahead schooling is to be found in 24 sickle cell children at HbF < 10% (41, 4%) and 54 sickle cell children at HbF < 10% (34, 2%) (p < 0,05); normal education in 14 children with sickle cell disease at HbF > 10% (24, 1%) and 45 children with sickle cell disease at HbF < 10% (25, 9%) and school difficulties in 20 children with sickle cell disease at HbF > 10% (34, 5%) and 71 children with sickle cell disease at HbF < 10% (39, 9%).
Tsiba
J B
JB
Service de pédiatrie générale et de néonatologie, Hôpital de Loandjili, BP 8122, Pointe-Noire, Congo. tjeanbertin@yahoo.fr
Nzingoula
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003223:Congo; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male