[Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS co-infection in children: experience carried out in paediatric service of the teaching hospital of Brazzaville, Republic of Congo (1995-2004)].

Epidemiologic, clinical and paraclinical data of 126 children with tuberculosis whose HIV status was known, have been compared. Among them, 65% were HIV positive, the co-infection tuberculosis HIV/AIDS was observed in all social categories. The source of contamination was discovered for 72% of the patients. The mother was involved in 47.5% of cases. The main reasons of consultation were a long standing fever a chronic cough and a weight loss. Diarrhea was mainly observed in positive HIV patients (p = 0.00). The general condition was influenced by a weight loss which was more important in positive patients with a IMC lower than 10 in 12.8% of cases. There was no significant difference between all clinical forms. Digital hippocratism, chronic otitis and parotiditis were only observed in positive HIV patients with skin illness ten times more frequent (p = 0.00). Anergia to tuberculin tests (78.4%) and a sedimentation speed up to 100 mm at the first hour were observed in more than 60% of the positive HIV patients (p = 0.001). Evolution was favorable under treatment for 84% of positive HIV patients with an increasing weight becoming weaker after one month of treatment. All deaths happened among that population.