Niang, Babacar <br/><br/>
Rickets in children at the Dakar University Hospital 

 -  2022.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 10 
<br/><br/> In developing countries, deficiency rickets are the main cause of rickets. In Senegal, there are no national guidelines for vitamin D supplementation. The objective of this study was to determine the epidemiological profile, diagnosis, and prognosis of rickets in children. This was a retrospective study carried out over seven years; it included all children under 15 years of age who were being monitored for rickets. During this period, 13 cases of rickets were identified, representing 3.1% of endocrine pathologies (dysthyroidism, puberty disorders, growth disorders, sexual development abnormalities, diabetes) and 0.4% of hospitalizations. The M/F sex ratio was 0.8. The six months–two years age range was the most representative at 46.1%. The mean age at diagnosis was two years (six months–five years). More than four out of five children (84.6%) were breastfed in their first six months of life. Skeletal abnormalities and gait disorders were the main clinical signs. Blood calcium was low in 76.9% of cases and blood phosphorus in 92.3%. Blood vitamin D3 was low in 100% of cases with a mean of 13.2 ng/mL. The rickets were either deficiency rickets (46.1%), vitamin-resistant type 2 rickets (38.5%) or rickets secondary to chronic renal disease (15.4%). Deficiency rickets remains the main cause of rickets in Senegal, especially in infants. There is a need to implement national guidelines for routine vitamin D supplementation and to carry out regular awareness-raising activities about good dietary practices.