Frequency of paediatric brain tumours at two tertiary referral centers in Johannesburg

Abstract

AIM: To determine the frequency of primary brain tumour cases among children admitted at the neurosurgical wards at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) during 2018.

METHOD Records of children who had primary brain tumours and met inclusion criteria were assessed for relevant data which included: - Children’s demographic profiles - Clinical data such as Glasgow Coma Score - presence of motor fallout - Radiological data such as tumour size and location - Histological data - and WHO (World Health Organisation) histological grade

RESULT Of the 349 children admitted during the study period, 23 had primary brain tumours, a prevalence of 6.59%. The ages of those with tumours ranged from 0 to 12 (mean = 1.87 +/- 0.87) years. The majority of primary paediatric brain tumours were found in the 0 - 3 years age group. There were more females affected with brain tumours. Of the children with brain tumours, 53% were females and 47% males. Astrocytomas (30.4%), Choroid plexus tumours (17.4%) and Medulloblastomas (17.4%) were most frequent. In this study, more black children were affected with primary paediatric brain tumours than

white children.

CONCLUSION The prevalence of primary paediatric brain tumours