Knowledge of General Practitioners in Cotonou about Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) are seen late in specialized medical consultation in Benin. The objective of this work was to assess general practitioners’ knowledge in Cotonou about SLE. Materials and Methods: This work was a cross-sectional study that was led in the city of Cotonou from July 1 to September 30, 2017. In the study population, we have general practitioners who practice in the city. Data collection was set in response to a self-questionnaire. Result: The survey involved 209 general practitioners. The average age was 27.5 years with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 34. Most of them practiced in private clinics. Besides, 17 doctors (8.1%) reported that they never heard of lupus. Among the 192 remaining, only one had an average knowledge of lupus, while the others had insufficient knowledge. Conclusion: From this study, we got that SLE is still little known by the general practitioner. Increasing the knowledge of general practitioners’ knowledge of lupus is compulsory to improve the screening rate.