Epidemiological and Diagnostic Profiles of Chronic Inflammatory Rheumatism in a Regional University Hospital in Burkina Faso: A Three-Year Study (2020~2023)

Objective: The objective is to describe the epidemiological and diagnostic profile of chronic inflammatory rheumatism (CIR) at the Ouahigouya Regional University Hospital. Patients and Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection over a three-year period from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2023. Patients received in rheumatology consultations or hospitalizations meeting the diagnostic criteria for chronic inflammatory rheumatism were included. Results: Forty patients were included in our study. There were 29 female patients and 11 male patients, resulting in a sex ratio of 0.37. The average age of patients was 46.05 ± 17.98 years, with extremes of 10 years and 76 years. The average disease duration was 29.87 ± 27.95 months, with extremes of 1 month to 120 months. Joint manifestations were mainly polyarthritis in 31 cases (77.5%) and polyarthralgia in eight cases (20%). Dermatological (17.5%), cardiovascular (12.5%) and haematological (10%) symptoms were the most frequent extra-articular symptoms. The pathological history was dominated by arterial hypertension in seven cases (17.5%), and diabetes mellitus in three cases (7.5%). The chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases found were: rheumatoid arthritis in 24 patients (60%), indeterminate chronic inflammatory rheumatism disease in five patients (12.5%), systemic lupus erythematosus in three patients (7.5%), spondyloarthritis in two patients (5%), systemic scleroderma in two patients (5%), dermatomyositis in one patient (2.5%), secondary Gougerot-Sjögren’s syndrome in one patient (2.5%), remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome in one patient (2.5%) and acute rheumatic fever in one patient (2.5%). Conclusion: Our study shows that rheumatic fever is not rare in Ouahigouya. It is dominated by rheumatoid arthritis and indeterminate chronic inflammatory rheumatism diseases.