Difficulties in the Management of Systemic Autoimmune Diseases in Saint-Louis Du Senegal through the Analysis of a Series of 70 Observations

Abstract

Introduction: Systemic Autoimmune Diseases (SAID) long considered very rare in Africa are increasingly the subject of publications. The objective of this work is to identify the difficulties in the management of these pathologies in an internal medicine department in northern Senegal by analyzing the epidemiological, clinical-biological, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of SAID. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in the internal medicine department of the Saint-Louis University Hospital Center. Included were all the files of patients followed in outpatient and/or hospitalization for autoimmune diseases according to the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology, during the period from January 2017 to December 2020. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21.0. As the study was descriptive, no statistical test was performed. Results: Out of 3800 patients, 70 presented SAID, i.e. a hospital prevalence of 1.8%. Polyarthritis was the first reason for consultation in 97% followed by skin manifestations in 8%. The patients had positive anti-nuclear autoantibodies in 88% of cases. Rheumatoid arthritis was the predominant condition (71%) followed by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (15%) and undifferentiated autoimmune diseases in 10%. Eleven percent (11%) of patients had an associated autoimmune disease. Corticosteroids were used in the treatment of these conditions in 97% of cases and methotrexate was the most prescribed immunosuppressant (54%). Thirty-two percent (32%) of patients are lost to follow-up. ConHow to cite this paper: Dia, D.G., Dia, A.D., Diagne, N., Ndao, A.C., Tall, C.T. and Ngouamba, B.M. (2021) Difficulties in the Management of Systemic Autoimmune Diseases in Saint-Louis Du Senegal through the Analysis of a Series of 70 Observations. Open Journal of Internal Medicine, 11, 258-264. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojim.2021.114022 Received: October 16, 2021 Accepted: December 21, 2021 Published: December 24, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access