Dermatomyositis: Epidemio-Clinical Profile, Therapeutic and Evolutive Aspects in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Introduction: Dermatomyositis is a rare pathology with severe prognosis. Its prevalence varies from one part of the earth to another and its clinical aspects are multiple. In Western countries, they have been the subject of several studies. However few studies have been devoted to this disease in sub-Saharan Africa . We initiated this work to contribute to a better knowledge of dermatomyositis in our work context. Material and Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study carried out in the Dermatology Department of the University Hospital Center of Treichville from January 2006 to December 2015 . All Patients with dermatomyositis have been taken into account in the study. Results: The hospital prevalence of dermatomyositis in our work was 1.38%. The age of our patients ranged from 11 to 79 years with an average of 41 years. The sex ratio was 0.48. The delay before the first consultation ranged from 1 week to 1 year 9 months with an average of 5 months. Cutaneous manifestations were the first signs observed including post-in - flammatory hyperpigmentation and erythro-eodema. Muscular manifestations were dominated by muscular pain (81.08%). muscular enzymes were consistently elevated in biological examinations. The duration of hospitalization was 3 weeks in average. Oral corticotherapy (94.59%) was the most used therapy. A clinical improvement was observed on average 4 months after treatment. The death rate was 16.22%. Conclusion: Dermatomyositis is infrequent in C ô te d’Ivoire. It involves mostly young woman. The cutaneous manifestations are often the first signs observed, hence the importance of the dermatologist in its screening and early management.