Atopic dermatitis in Cotonou,Benin: clinical and therapeutic aspects

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study the clinical and therapeutic aspects of atopic dermatitis in two départements of dermatology-venereology in Cotonou. A descriptive prospective study was conducted during 13 months in hospital based population in Cotonou. All new patients with a diagnosis of eczema were seen to apply the diagnostic criteria of United Kingdom Working Party. Information was analyzed with Epiinfo. The patients gave their informed consent before inclusion in the survey and confidentiality of their data had been secured. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis was 5.5%. 57.4 of patients began their illness before the age of 12. 34.3 of patients had asthma, 62.7 had a history of atopic dermatitis , 46.0 had allergic conjunctivitis and 25.4% allergic sinusitis, 40.1 allergic rhinitis. Pruritus was present in 100% of patients, swelling and papule in 91.1, xérosis in 90, and erythema in 50%. Vulgar eczema was the most common clinical form (67.7%). Minor signs of atopy were: sign of Dennie Morgan ( 58.8%), periorbital pigmentation (47.0%), eczématides achromiants (13.7%), follicula keratosis (8.8%). At the first consultation, the mean clinical score of the patients according to TIS score was 2.32. He had decreased to 1.0 after 2 weeks of treatment. A simple treatment with antihistamines 1, emollients and topical corticosteroid was effective in controlling outbreaks of atopic dermatitis. The incidence of atopic dermatitis was low in hospital setting in Cotonou. The most frequent clinical form was vulgar eczema.