Background: Childhood cerebral malaria is one of the most frequent complications of malaria, with high morbidity and mortality. Raised Intracranial Pressure (ICP) is currently recognized as a fundamental element of the severity of that disease. This study aims to look into the prognostic role of the sonographic measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) in the context of that disease. Methods: This study was conducted in the pediatric and imaging departments of the University Hospital Center of Parakou in Republic of Benin in West Africa. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with a prospective data collection conducted over a period of 6 months, from March 1st to August 31st, 2014. There were two groups of children with severe malaria and conscious impairment: one with unrousable coma or Cerebral Malaria (Group 1) and the other without unrousable coma (Group 2), benefitting from ONSD sonographic measurement. ONSD was measured 3 mm behind the papilla. Correlation between depth of coma, outcome and ONSD measure on ultrasound was investigated. Results: Group 1 consisted of 37 children and Group 2 of 50 children, i.e. a sample of 87 children. The mean age was 27.21 ± 20.11 months and sex ratio (Male/Female) estimated at 0.89. The average ONSD of the sample was 4.39 ± 0.94 mm with a significant difference (p = 0.0001) between Group 1 (5.09 ± 1.09 mm) and Group 2 (3.87 ± 0.17 mm). Raised ICP prevalence was 48.28% with a significant difference between Group 1 (83.78%) and Group 2 (22%) with p < 0.0001. ONSD was higher in children with unfavorable clinical outcome than in those cured (p = 0.0012). Conclusion: Sonographic measurement of ONSD could be a leading prognostic tool in childhood cerebral malaria management.
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