Lomboradiculalgie Du Sujet Âgé En Consultation Rhumatologique À Lomé, Togo

Abstract

Objective: To study the epidemiological, diagnostic, therapeutic and outcome aspects of low back pain with radicular pain in rheumatology ward at Sylvanus Olympio Teaching Hospital at Lome, TOGO. Methods: It is a cross sectional study of 298 patients of 65 years and above, suffering from low back pain with radicular pain. They were admitted in the rheumatology ward of Sylvanus Olympio Teaching Hospital from January 2010 to December 2015. Results: 298 out of 768 patients examined within a period of five years (38.80%) were suffering from low back pain with radicular pain. These 298 patients comprises of 215 women (72.15%) and 83 men (27.85%) with an average age of 62.04 years at the onset. The mean age at the consultation was 70.72 ± 5.5 years. The mean duration of the diseases was 10.28 ± 23.81 months. The major diseases observed were degenerative disc (279 cases : 93.61%), bone tumors (16 cases : 5.38%), and spondylodiscitis (03 cases : 1.01%). The clinical manifestations of the degenerative disc of the lumbar spine were the LBP (209 cases : 74,91%) European Scientific Journal October 2017 edition Vol.13, No.30 ISSN: 1857 – 7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857- 7431 223 and the narrowed lumbar canal (47 cases : 16.85%). The bone tumors were dominated by prostate cancer (five cases : 12,02%). The spondylodiscitis, probably of tuberculous origin, affected three patients, among whom was one Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patient. Conclusion: Degenerative disc is a frequent pathology nowadays, both in the Togolese population and in the elderly in particular. Nevertheless, efforts should be made to eliminate specific back pain in the elderly, whose clinical picture may be misleading.