[Spondylo-arthritis in Togolese patients]

A survey was conducted to determine the frequency and semiological characteristics of spondylarthropathies encountered in hospital consultation in Lomé, Togo. Spondylarthropathy was diagnosed in 13 out of 1498 consulting patients. All the patients were male, ranging in age from 18 to 44 years at the onset of the disease. Six patients suffering from ankylosing spondylitis had bilateral sacroiliitis: 5 were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and had no signs of sacroiliitis on pelvic X-rays; the remaining 2 patients had no sacroiliitis and were HIV-negative. HLA typing was not carried out in any patient. The symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis in our patients were comparable to those of European patients. The symptoms of HIV-positive patients were reminiscent of those describing reactive arthritis in such patients. The results of this study contradict the reputed scarcity of ankylosing spondylitis and other spondylarthropathies in black Africa. HIV infection may increase the incidence of reactive arthritis and, as a consequence, that of spondylarthropathies in this region.