Motifs d’hospitalisation des patients en dermatologie à Lomé, Togo : tendances entre 1992-2005 et 2005-2016

: The aim of this study was to report the frequency of and reasons for dermatology admissions in Lome (Togo) between 2005 and 2016. This retrospective study examined records from August 2005 to December 2016 from the dermatology departments of the two teaching hospitals in Lome, Togo. During the study period, 454 (1.1%) of the 40,231 new patients who consulted in dermatology were hospitalized, with a total of 460 separate admissions (mean dermatology hospitalizations per year: 42). Patients' mean age was 43±17.6 years and the sex ratios (M/F) was 0.6. The main reasons for hospitalization were Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), also known as erythema multiforme majus, and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) (28.9%), followed by bullous erysipelas (21.4%), connective tissue disease (10.3%), and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus (9%). The average length of stay in hospital was 15±13.7 days. The diagnosis that accounted for the longest mean length of stay was deep fungal infections (63.5 days) (P<0.0001). We recorded 39 deaths, for a death rate of 8.6%. Death rates were highest for deep fungal infections (37.5%) and SJS/TEN (12.2%). Our study confirmed the low rate of inpatient admissions in dermatology and revealed a change in the reasons for hospitalization and a decrease in mortality in dermatology in Lome, compared with the previous 13 years. This decrease in mortality may be attributed to the improvement of hospital care provided to patients but also by the generalization of antiretroviral treatment in Togo that began more than 10 years ago.