Infantile hemangiomas in Bouaké: about 20 cases

Introduction: Infantile hemangiomas (IM) are benign vascular tumors. They appear a few days to weeks after birth and regress spontaneously, sometimes leaving fibro adipose sequelae. They are frequent in Europe but little documented in Africa, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of the cases encountered in the dermatology-venereology department of the Bouaké University Hospital. Methodology: This was a descriptive retrospective study carried out at the dermatology-venereology department of the Bouaké University Hospital over a period of 42 months, from January 2021 to June 2024. Results: Over the study period, we identified 20 cases of IH out of a total of 5604 patients, i.e. a prevalence of 0.35%. The mean age was 2 years with extremes of 2 months and 9 years. The sex ratio was 0.43. In 20% of cases, the children were born to high-risk pregnancies and 20% of the children had an abnormal birth weight. In 95% of the children, the lesions had appeared within the first two weeks of life. In 50% of the cases, the lesions had a cephalic location and 50% of the lesions could threaten the vital prognosis (multifocal hemangiomatosis) and functional prognosis (periocular, mammary, nasal, beard). In 90% of cases, the lesion was single and 30% of the HIs were ulcerated. Treatment consisted of therapeutic abstention in 60% of cases. Conclusion: HIs are rare in Bouake. Despite this apparent rarity, they deserve special attention because of their cephalic predominance that can cause aesthetic or functional damage. Keywords: Infantile hemangiomas, Bouaké, Prejudice.