[Disseminated cysticercosis: report of three cases in Togo]. / Cysticercose disséminée: trois cas au Togo.

We report 3 cases of disseminated cysticercosis (DC) in adult male subjects in Togo. All had consulted in dermatology for asymptomatic subcutaneous nodules. The diagnosis was confirmed by histology of a resected nodule. Computed tomography allowed us to bring out the widespread dissemination of cysticerci. The skin, brain, muscle, eye, thyroid, and pleura were the affected organs. Treatment was based on albendazole and betamethasone, with adverse side effects in 2 of our 3 patients. Our 3 observations seem to be the first of their kind in Togo. The mechanism of contamination in these disseminated forms is not yet elucidated, however ingesting a gravid proglottis could be the basis of the widespread dissemination of cysticerci in the body. No consensus has yet been established in the treatment of DC and the management should follow the guideline for treatment of neurocysticercosis and ocular cysticercosis.

Causes of mortality associated with HIV/AIDS in health-care facilities in Togo: a six-month prospective study.

In order to determine the rate and the different causes of mortality associated with HIV/AIDS in health-care facilities we conducted a prospective study between 1 April and 30 September 2010 in the six health regions of Togo. We rationalized the choice of the healthcare facilities in order to cover the entire national territory. During the study period, 24,054 patients were hospitalized. HIV serology was positive in 1065 (18.2%) of the 5865 tested patients. Of the 24,054 patients, we recorded 2551 deaths (10.6%), including 309 HIV-infected patients (5.2%). The mortality rate associated with HIV/AIDS was 1.3% of the total number of inpatients and 5.3% of the number of patients tested for HIV. The mortality rate among HIV-infected patients was 29%. The causes of death in patients infected with HIV/AIDS were mainly anaemia and cerebral toxoplasmosis. This study shows that mortality associated with HIV/AIDS in health-care facilities in Togo remains relatively high.

[Opportunistic infections of the HIV/AIDS in adults in hospital settings in Togo]. / Infections opportunistes du VIH/sida chez les adultes en milieu hospitalier au Togo.

The objective of this study is to determine the main opportunistic infections (OI) and those strongly linked to high death rate in hospital settings in Togo. It is a descriptive study conducted from June to November 2008 in 22 public and private settings of all medical specialties throughout the entire Togolese territory. Hospitalized patients with OI and HIV positive data were collected. The study was started after getting patient approval. Of 7,361 hospitalized patients, 1,764 were tested, giving a screening rate of 23.7%. We registered 714 HIV-infected patients (HIVIP), 40.5% of the patients tested. The most common OI encountered were buccal candidiasis (49.7% of HIVIP), genital candidiasis (9.1%), meningeal cryptococcosis (2.9%), bacterial infections (48.2%), cerebral toxoplasmosis (11.2%) and pulmonary tuberculosis (11.3%). OI strongly linked to a high death rate were meningeal cryptococcosis (61.9%) and cerebral toxoplasmosis (46.3%). OI constitute a major reason of hospitalization for HIVIP in Togo. This study allows a better orientation of strategies for screening and taking care of HIVIP in Togo.

Management of epilepsy patients in Batamariba district, Togo.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the feasibility of managing epilepsy in a rural setting in a developing country. METHODS: The project comprised four phases. After a study of the perception of epilepsy, we conducted a sensitization campaign in November 2001. The third phase was a survey, to detect epilepsy patients, in which 6249 persons were asked to complete a questionnaire. Persons with epilepsy were then examined, treated, mainly with phenobarbital, and followed up. RESULTS: The prevalence of epilepsy was estimated to be 15.7 per thousand. Ninety-two patients took antiepileptic drugs from 1 February 2002. By November 2005, 92.7% of all treated patients had achieved complete suppression of seizures, and 7.3% had reduced seizure frequency. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the stigma attached to epilepsy in many developing countries, it can be controlled by relatively simple measures. At present, 601 epilepsy patients are being followed up at the Nadoba health centre, where epilepsy is now the second commonest disease.

[Neurological disorders and endemic goiter: comparative analysis of 2 provinces in Togo]. / Affections neurologiques et endémie goitreuse: analyse comparative de deux provinces du Togo.

Neurological diseases are one of the main causes of high mortality and morbidity in developing countries. The prevention of these diseases is possible if they are well known. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and the distribution of the main neurological affections in two rural districts. WHO research protocol for measuring the prevalence of neurological disorders in developing countries was used by the same staff. The first survey was conducted in Kloto from July to August 1989 on 19,241 inhabitants and the second in Akébou from January to February 1995 on 4182 subjects. Akébou was known as endemic goiter district. The prevalence of epilepsy was 12.3@1000 in Kloto and 13.1@1000 in Akébou. That of stroke was 2.4@1000 in Kloto versus 1.7@1000 in Akébou. The prevalence of Parkinson's disease was 0.2@1000 in Kloto and 0.2@1000 in Akébou. That of psychomotor retardation was 3.2@1000 in Kloto versus 8.1@1000 in Akébou. The prevalence of neurological cretinism was 97@1000 while that of myxoedematous cretinism was 31@1000 in Akébou. Apart from neurological disease, the prevalence of goitre was 43% in females and 26.1% in males in Akébou. Mental retardation and cretinism were frequent in Akébou, a district endemic for goitre. Besides stroke and febrile convulsions which predominated in Kloto, the main neurological disorders were most prevalent in Akébou. Community based care for epilepsy is provided in these districts as is the prevention of iodine deficiency in the Akébou district with the intention of reducing neurological affections.

[Prevalence of HTLV-1 virus infection in Togo (Kozah prefecture and the University Hospital Center of Lomé]. / Prévalence de l'infection par le virus HTLV-1 au Togo (préfecture de la Kozah et CHU de Lomé).

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Human T cell Leukaemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV1) in a representative population sample, in neurological and non-neurological patients hospitalised in the Lomé teaching hospital in order to study the clinical manifestations of this retrovirus. There was no statistical difference among the three groups concerning the prevalence of HTLV1 respectively (1.2%: 21/1717, 1.8%: 15/828 and 1.6%: 4/244). Spastic paraparesis was the only disease significantly linked to HTLV1 (15.5%: 9/58).

[Cysticercosis and epilepsy in the city of Tone, north of Togo]. / Cysticercose et épilepsie au nord du Togo dans le Tone.

An epidemiology study was conducted in Tone, a city in the very north of Togo from November 1 to 25, 1995. The prevalence of epilepsy was studied in 9,155 subjects and seroprevalence of cysticercosis in 1,343. This was a representative sample of this region with 194,000 inhabitants. The prevalence of epilepsy was 18.6 per 1 000 inhabitants. A causal relationship was found betwen cysticercosis and epilepsy. The prevalenced of cysticercosis was 38 per 1 000 persons in the general population and 135.29 per 1 000 epileptic patients. The difference was highly statistically significant (X( 2)=74.17, p<10(-6)).

[Clinical and epidemiological aspects of traditional therapeutic scarification in epilepsy in Togo]. / Intérêts cliniques et épidémiologiques des scarifications thérapeutiques traditionnelles chez l'épileptique au Togo.

One of the major problems of epilepsy in Africa are its social implications. Prejudice against the disease is common and epileptics are marginalised. Epilepsy is concealed from all non-family members. The very pronunciation of the word "falling disease" (as epilepsy is called) is taboo, the disease being regarded as supernatural. This unfavourable context introduces considerable bias in hospital and population-based studies. Traditional doctors are consulted by patients especially when they have such a "supernatural" disease. Traditional scarifications are used for the treatment of epileptics in Togo. We examined the skin of 36,000 patients in the neurological department of Lomé's teaching hospital between 1985 and 1995 and conducted a similar, population-based study on about 20,000 inhabitants in the Kloto district of south-western Togo and on 10,000 inhabitants in the Tone district of northern Togo. Interviews with 40,000 traditional doctors revealed that forehead scarifications are characteristic of epilepsy treatment. More than 80% of epileptics have forehead scarifications. When the seizures are rare, scarifications are slim, short (1-3 mm), near the roots of hair on the forehead and concealed; but when they are frequent, known by many people, scarifications are large, long, visible on forehead, the patient showing the sign of his social sentence.. On the skin of epileptics in Togo, is written the diagnosis of his affection. It only needs to look at it.

[Traditional tattoos with neurological diseases in Togo]. / Les scarifications traditionnelles chez les malades neurologiques au Togo.

In Africa, there are two types of health systems: the modern system and the traditional one. Traditional medicine attracts more patients, because it is more financially accessible and corresponds to cultural representations of disease in society. Traditional therapeutic tattoos are not well known by the conventional health system in West Africa, although they are commonly used by traditional healers. We report here our experience of these tattoos. We examined the skin of 36,000 patients in the neurological department of the teaching hospital of Lome from 1985 to 1995. We found three types of tattoos amongst patients. The first are tribal or social tattoos: they are large, homogeneous, located on exposed parts of the body and can be seen easily by others (fig 1: g, h, i), whilst therapeutic tattoos are slight and hidden under clothes and can also be repeated (heterogeneous). The second type of tattoo is one that reveals the patient's pathological history. The third is linked to the motive of consultation. Seventy-five per cent (75%) of patients had traditional therapeutic tattoos. Epilepsy tattoos are slim, located on the forehead (fig 1a); peripheral facial paralysis tattoos are found on the facial nerve (fig 1 b). In cases of peripheral neuropathy, tattoos are symmetrically distributed on hands and legs (fig 1 f). As for medullar compression, the highest tattoos correspond to the level of compression. Studying the localisation, age, and aim of tattoos brings to light their diagnostic, prognostic, and epidemiological interests. Skin can thus reveal itself to medical staff as an open, though coded, medical file. They need only to learn how to read it.