Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Particularities in Chad

Objectives: To describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic profile of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at the CHU-RN of N’Djaména in order to define its particularities. Patients and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of patients seen in the internal medicine and gastroenterology department of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire la Référence Nationale de N’Djaména during the period January 2021 to December 2022 (2 years). All patients aged 16 and over meeting at least the 4 ACR (1997) criteria were included. Demographic, clinical and therapeutic data were analyzed. Results: During the study period, 1094 patients were admitted to internal medicine consultations, among whom 14 cases of lupus were diagnosed, representing a prevalence of 1.27%. The sex ratio was 3.6%. All patients were black, with a mean age of 30.32 years [16 - 68]. The mean time to diagnosis was 22.32 months [1 - 120 months]. All patients had general manifestations (100%), followed by joint manifestations (51.1%). Renal, digestive and cutaneous-mucosal manifestations were present in 42.9% each. All patients had undergone immunological testing. Conclusion: SLE is unusual in Chad in terms of its clinical polymorphism, the frequency of anti-DNA natives, the low frequency of anti-phospholipids and, finally, the very high efficacy of synthetic antimalarials and corticoids.