[Scleroderma in a hospital setting in Togo].

The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the epidemiological and semiological profile of scleroderma in Black Africa. Medical records of patients who consulted in the Dermatology Clinic and the Rheumatology Clinic of the Teaching Hospital in Lomé, Togo between 1980 and 1996 and between 1989 and 1996 respectively were reviewed. Scleroderma was diagnosed in 18 of the 34,169 patients seen during the study periods (0,05%). The disease was systemic in 13 cases (8 females, 5 males; mean age: 31 years) and localized in 5 cases (mean age: 20 years). There were no predisposing occupational or therapeutic factors. The clinical manifestations were Raynaud's phenomenon in six of the 13 patients with systemic scleroderma. Extensive cutaneous sclerosis in 10 cases, poikiloderma in seven cases, dysphagia in three cases, pulmonary fibrosis in four cases, and polyarthralgia in two cases. Myalgia and renal involvement were not observed. The findings of this study documents the low incidence of scleroderma in Togo. The high frequency of extensive cutaneous sclerosis, poikiloderma and low frequency of Raynaud's phenomenon which were often mild are the most remarkable features of the disease in Lomé. These features have been pointed out previously but epidemiologic data is still insufficient to confirm the existence of an African form of scleroderma.