%0 Journal Article
%T Severe Skin Forms of Psoriasis in Black Africans: Epidemiological, Clinical, and Histological Aspects Related to 56 Cases
%A Komenan Kassi
%A Oussou Armel Mienwoley
%A Mohamed Kouyate
%A Sylvanus Koui
%A Kouame A. Kouassi
%J Autoimmune Diseases
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/561032
%X Bacground. Psoriasis is an erythematosquamous dermatosis of chronic development. In sub-Saharan Africa, few studies have been focused on complicated forms of psoriasis. Objective. The aim is to describe epidemiological, clinical, and histological features of severe skin forms of psoriasis in Cote d¡¯Ivoire. Material and Methods. The study was both cross-sectional and descriptive, that focused on patient admitted to the dermatology unit for complicated psoriasis, from January 1st, 1986, to December 31th, 2007. Results. Fifty-six patients admitted to hospital for severe skin forms of psoriasis were recorded and included in our study over 7.503 patients hospitalized during the study period. They represented 0.75% of cases. The average age was 39.6 ¡À 3.3 years. There were 49 male (87.5%) and 7 female patients (12.5%) with a sex ratio of 7. At socioprofessional level, 48 patients (87.5%) were from category 1. Patients¡¯ history was dominated by the psoriasis vulgaris. Physical and general signs were dominated by itching (58.9%). The three severe skin forms were observed with predominant erythrodermic psoriasis (60.7%). Fifteen patients (34.9%) were HIV positive. Conclusion. Severe skin forms of psoriasis are rare in our setting. But in the quarter of HIV-positive patients, they are dominated by the erythrodermic psoriasis. 1. Introduction Psoriasis is an erythematosquamous dermatosis of chronic development. It is ubiquitous and seems common in the West where prevalence rate ranges from 2 to 3% in the population at large [1, 2]. The benign forms are the most numerous, around 90%, and raise an aesthetic issue. The severe forms which are life-threatening or threaten the functional prognosis account for about 10% and require an admission to hospital. Psoriasis diagnosis is clinically easy in typical forms. Yet a histological confirmation is required after a biopsy of the skin lesion. Histological images are characteristic with parakeratotic hyperkeratosis and Munro-Sabouraud¡¯s microabscesses [2]. In sub-Saharan Africa few studies have been focused on complicated forms of psoriasis [3]. The objective of this study is to describe the epidemiological, clinical, and histological aspects of psoriasis complicated forms in patients admitted to the Dermatology Unit of Treichville University Hospital. 2. Material and Methods The study was cross-sectional and descriptive. It focused on all the records of patients admitted to the Dermatology Unit of Treichville University Hospital for complicated forms of psoriasis in the period covering January 1, 1986, to December 31,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ad/2013/561032/