Severity of the Rheumatoid Arthritis in Sub-Saharan Africa: Study of 403 Senegalese Observations

Introduction: Weassess the severity of the rheumatoid arthritis in a Senegalese African blackpopulation. Patients and methods: It is a retrospective study achieved in the service of Internal Medicine ofAristide Le Dantec teaching hospital of Dakar between January 2005 andDecember 2016 in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. We specified forevery patient the predictive data of severity of the rheumatoid arthritis. Results: Four hundred and three patients have been gathered (39 men and 364 women), withthe mean age of 45.8 years. An active tobacco addiction was noticed in 10patients. The diagnostic delay was on average of 72 months. Characteristicarticular deformations were noticed in 215 patients (53.3%). They werecorrelated to male (p = 0.038), to age (p = 0.001) and to the activity of therheumatoid arthritis (p = 0.0445). Systemic manifestations have been observedin 213 cases (52.9%), particularly anemia (50.8%). They were correlated to theanti-CCP antibodies (p = 0.047). The ESR was increased at the first hour in84.4% of cases (median: 43 mm; extreme: 1and 160). CRP was elevated in 63.71% of cases(median of 12 mg/l; extreme: 1 and 384). The rheumatoid factor was positive in57.6% of the cases. The anti-CCP antibodieswere present in 89.2% of the cases. Articularerosions were objectified in all cases. A DAS 28 superior to 5.1 was noticed in71% of cases. Conclusion: The rheumatoid arthritis was severe in ourstudy.