Spondyloarthropathies in patients attending the rheumatology unit of Lomé Hospital.

A retrospective study was conducted to determine the frequency and symptomatologic profile of spondyloarthropathy in hospital consultation in Lomé, Togo. Spondyloarthropathy was diagnosed in 31 of 2,030 patients. Of the 31 patients, 8 were human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) carriers and had no sacroiliitis. Spinal pain, oligoarthritis, diarrhea and weight loss were the main clinical features of these HIV carriers. The 23 remaining patients were not infected with HIV. Nine had ankylosing spondylitis and bilateral sacroiliitis; the 14 others had no sacroiliitis and had symptomatology suggestive of reactive arthritis observed after urogenital or digestive infection. While much more work is needed before drawing a definite conclusion on spondyloarthropathy in Black Africa, this study indicates that cases of spondyloarthropathy are less rare in Black Africa than thought before; spondyloarthropathy frequency rate should be expected to increase in the future because of HIV infection.