Pattern of osteoarthritis in a West African teaching hospital.

The study of the pattern of osteoarthritis in different populations may yield valuable aetiological clues and also allow subtypes to be defined. Over one year 252 osteoarthritic joints from 140 patients seen at a West African teaching hospital were prospectively reviewed. The knee was the joint most often affected. Hip and hand disease, as well as Heberden's nodes, were uncommon. Joint disease was predominantly monoarticular; no patient had three or more sites affected.