Etiological Profile of Arthritis at the Teaching and Departmental Hospital Oueme-Plateau of Porto- Novo.

Abstract

Introduction: Arthritis is common in rheumatology and has a large number of causes. Our goal in this study was to find out the etiological profile of arthritis in the rheumatology unit of the Teaching and Departmental Hospital Oueme-Plateau. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study, with retrospective collection, on the files of patients who consulted the rheumatology unit of the Teaching and Departmental Hospital Oueme-Plateau of Porto-Novo, from May 2015 to September 2021. All patients with arthritis were included. The data collected were recorded and analyzed using EPI INFO software version 7.2. Results: Out of 2416 records, 68 patients presented with arthritis, i.e., a hospital frequency of 2.8%. The mean age was 49.3 (± 16.9) years with extremes of 5 and 80 years. The majority were women (60.3%) with a sex ratio of 0.7. These patients were hypertensive in 42.6% of cases and diabetic in 10.3% of cases. The non-specific biological inflammatory syndrome was present in 75.5% of the 53 patients who underwent these explorations. Polyarthritis was present in most cases (52.9%), followed by monoarthritis (26.5%). The most recurrent etiological groups were autoimmune causes (38.8%), microcrystalline (35.8%), and infectious (14.9%). Rheumatoid arthritis was the most frequent cause (36.8%), followed by gout (25.0%), chondrocalcinosis (10.3%), tuberculosis (7.3%), septic arthritis (4.4%), and mixed spondyloarthritis (4.4%). Autoimmune causes were the first etiological group in women (52.5%) and microcrystalline causes were the first etiological group in men (59.3%), with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.010). Conclusion: The causes of arthritis in the Teaching and Departmental Hospital Oueme-Plateau are multiple, but are dominated by autoimmune, microcrystalline, and infectious causes.