Imaging of developmental delay in black African children: A hospital-based study in Yaoundé-Cameroon

• Published in: African health sciences 2023-03, Vol.23 (1), p.686-92
• Main Authors: Nguefack, Seraphin, Fongue, Nasser Ndongafack, Tague, Daniel Armand Kago, Kengne, Ulrich Igor Mbessoh, Tapouh, Jean Roger Mouliom, Nguefack, Félicitée, Chiabi, Andreas, Moifo, Boniface
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atrophy - pathology; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Cameroon - epidemiology; Cerebral Palsy - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Palsy - epidemiology; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Developmental Disabilities - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Infant; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Pregnancy
• ISSN: 1680-6905; 1729-0503
• DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v23i1.73

The purpose of this study was to describe the anomalies observed on imaging for developmental delay in black African children. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study, which included children aged between 1 month to 6 years with developmental delay and had done a brain MRI and/or CT scan. We included 94 children, 60.6% of whom were males. The mean age was 32.5 ± 6.8 months. A history of perinatal asphyxia found in 55.3% of cases. According to the Denver developmental II scale, profound developmental delay observed in 35.1% of cases, and severe developmental delay in 25.5%. DD was isolated in 2.1% of cases and associated with cerebral palsy, pyramidal syndrome, and microcephaly in respectively 83%, 79.8%, and 46.8% of cases. Brain CT scan and MRI accounted for 85.1% and 14.9% respectively. The tests were abnormal in 78.7% of the cases, and cerebral atrophy was the preponderant anomaly (cortical atrophy = 80%, subcortical atrophy = 69.3%). Epileptic patients were 4 times more likely to have abnormal brain imaging (OR = 4.12 and p = 0.05),. We did not find a link between the severity of psychomotor delay and the presence of significant anomalies in imaging. In our context, there is a high prevalence of organic anomalies in the imaging of psychomotor delay, which were dominated by cerebral atrophy secondary to hypoxic ischemic events.