title: Pruritus in dermatological hospital in Bamako, Mali.
abstract: Pruritus is a symptom frequently encountered in dermatology consultations. For practitioners working in a tropical environment, particularly in Africa, the diagnosis of pruritus remains a constant problem. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemioclinical aspects and the etiologies of pruritus encountered at the dermatological hospital in Bamako. We conducted a prospective survey on a cohort of patients attending the Department of Dermatology at the Centre National d'Appui (CNAM-Ex Institut Marchoux) in the Fight against Disease over a 1-year period (June 1, 2009-May 31, 2010). Consequently, the study included every patient, whatever their age and gender, that agreed to take part in the survey and whose main reason for attending for a consultation was "pruritus." The clinical and biological data were entered and analyzed using Epi Info software, version 6.04 fr. A total of 232 patients (163 women, 69 men) attended because of pruritus out of 1761 overall patients (i.e., a prevalence of 13.17%). The mean age of the patients was 33 ± 19 years. Dermatological causes represented 95% of the etiologies. This work allowed us to observe the systemic causes of pruritus in the dermatological environment in Mali and greater likelihood of black women to attend because of pruritus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, CNAM Ex Institut Marchoux. PO Box 251             Faculty of Medicine, University of Bamako, Mali.
authors.forename: Ousmane
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Faye
authors.forename: Lamissa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cisse
authors.forename: Siritio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berthe
authors.forename: Adama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dicko
authors.forename: Hawa Thiam
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Ndiaye
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Traore
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Coulibaly
authors.forename: Somita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keita
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D003880:Dermatology; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008302:Mali / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011537:Pruritus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult