[Prevalence and control of asthma among medical students at Parakou, Benin]. / Prévalence et contrôle de l'asthme chez les étudiants en médecine à Parakou, Bénin.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and to assess the control of asthma among students at the faculty of medicine of the university of Parakou in Benin. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out between January and November 2017. The Asthma Screening Questionnaire (ASQ) was filled out by medical students, followed by the Asthma Control Test questionnaire for those who were suspected of having clinical asthma (ASQ≥4). All students with clinical asthma or with a history of asthma were invited to perform a spirometry test. RESULTS: Overall, 837 (73.7%) students out of 1136 were included. The prevalence was 9.1% for ever diagnosed asthma, 14% for clinical asthma and 5.3% for confirmed asthma. Among 761 students, without a previous asthma diagnosis, 10.4% had clinical asthma and 3.3% a confirmed asthma. Female sex (aOR=2.1; 95%CI =1.0-4.1), a previous diagnosis of asthma (aOR=7; 95% CI=3.2-15.2) and allergic rhinitis (aOR=3.9; 95% CI=1.9-7.8) were associated with confirmed asthma. Asthma symptoms were controlled in 92 (78.6%) students, partly controlled in 20 (17.1%), and not controlled in 5 (4.3%). CONCLUSION: Clinical manifestations of asthma are frequent among medical students at Parakou. Some are not well controlled, suggesting a need for greater awareness and an improvement in clinical follow-up.

[Tuberculosis in older persons in African setting: Epidemiological, diagnostic and evolutive features]. / La tuberculose du sujet âgé en milieu africain : particularités épidémiologiques, diagnostiques et évolutives au Bénin.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the epidemiological, diagnostic and evolutives features of tuberculosis (TB) in older subjects in Benin. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of adults TB patients (age≥15 years) who were notified at all the Basic Management Units (BMU) in Benin from January 1st, 2013 to December 31st. Older subjects (age≥60 years) were compared to those less than 60 years named young subjects. The threshold of significance was set at 5%. RESULTS: The analysis was carried out on 6531 cases adults cases notified during the period. 601 (9.2%) were 60 years old or above. The case notification rate (CNR) in elders was more than twice the CNR in young people (68 cases vs. 31 cases per 100,000 population). Older subjects were less often infected with HIV (9.3%) than young's (16.7%), P<0.0001. In new bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB negative for HIV, unfavorable treatment outcomes were more frequent in older subjects than in young subjects with more deaths (7.5% vs. 3.0%). On the other hand, in bacteriological confirmed TB seropositive for HIV and all the other cases, treatment outcomes were comparable between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The high CNR and the high death rate in older subjects should plead for a specific care for an adapted management of TB case in this group.

Dépistage des affections oculaires chez des travailleurs d'une entreprise de télécommunication, Lomé, Togo / NA

Les yeux constituent un organe important dans la mise en oeuvre des activités professionnelles et extraprofessionnelles. Dans le cadre d'une entreprise de télécommunication, il a été constaté une augmentation croissante des problèmes oculaires d'années en années.L'objectif de l'étudeétaitde décrire l'épidémiologiedes affections oculaires en fonction de l'exposition à l'écranchez lestravailleurs d'une entreprise de Télécommunication au Togo. Il s'agissait d'une étude transversale. Une analyse descriptive a été faite en fonction de l'exposition au travail sur écran.Sur les 766 participants inclus, 599 étaient des hommes (78,20%).La prévalence des affections oculaires était très élevée indépendamment de l'exposition au travail sur écran en dehors des conjonctivites.Les principales affections oculaires étaient représentées par: une proportion significativement faible de cas d'amétropie (81% vs 97%) et de cataracte (6% vs 13%) chez les travailleurs exposés par rapport à ceux non exposés à l'exception des conjonctivites (32% vs 23%) qui étaient significativement plus fréquentes chez les exposés au travail sur écran de visualisation que les non exposés. L'âge influençait significativement la survenue de ces pathologies à l'exception des conjonctivites.Les facteurs tels que l'âge et les antécédents médicaux et professionnels des travailleurs devront être pris en compte dans le suivi de l'état oculaire des travailleurs.

The eyes are an important organ in the performance of professional and extra-professional activities. In the context of a telecommunications company, eye problems increase from year to year. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of eye diseases as a function of screen exposure among workers in a telecommunications company in Togo. This was a cross- sectional study. A descriptive analysis was done based on the exposure to screen-based work. Of the 766 participants included, 599 were male (78.20%). The prevalence of eye diseases was very high regardless of exposure to screen-based work outside conjunctivitis. The main ocular disorders were represented by: a significantly low proportion of cases of ametropia (81% vs 97%) and cataracts (6% vs 13%) in exposed workers compared to unexposed workers, with the exception of conjunctivitis (32% vs 23%) which were significantly more frequent in occupational exposures on visual display screens than unexposed workers. Age significantly influenced the occurrence of these pathologies with the exception of conjunctivitis. Factors such as the age and medical and occupational history of workers should be taken into account when monitoring the ocular status of workers.