Dermatite à Paederus: Caractéristiques cliniques et épidémiologiques de 104 nouvelles observations colligées au CHU de Conakry, Guinée

Abstract

Background: Paederus dermatitis is a vesicant contact dermatitis. At the end of the winter period of 2020, we recorded a surge in the number of consultations for paederus. The aim of this work was to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the epidemic of paederus dermatitis observed in Conakry in 2020. Material and Methods: Single-center, descriptive study with prospective recruitment of all cases of paederosis clinically diagnosed at the Dermatology department of the University Hospital of Conakry, between October 04 and December 26, 2020. The diagnosis of pederosis was based on a combination of anamnestic and clinical arguments. For each patient, the socio-demographic, clinical and therapeutic data were specified. Results: A total of 104 patients, including 54 (52%) women and 50 (48%) men, were collected. The mean age was 28 years with extremes of 2 and 73 years. The majority of patients (59.6%) were unaware of the condition. They lived in houses lit by fluorescent bulbs in 86.5% of cases. The peak of consultation was observed in the 46th week of the year. Eighty-three (79.8%) patients consulted within the first week after the onset of symptoms. The majority of patients (52.9%) used self-medication before the consultation. Of the patients, 50 (48.1%) had burning skin lesions, painful in 46 (44.2%). Pruritus was noted in 39 (37.5%) patients. The lesions were dominated by erythema with a linear aspect in 55 (52.9%) patients, vesicles in 20 (19.2%) and bullae in 8 (7.7%) patients. In 30 (28.8%) patients there was a single lesion, in 34 (32.7%) patients there was a double lesion, in 18 (17.3%) patients there was a triple lesion and in 22 (21.2%) patients there were more than three lesions. The majority of lesions (66.3%) were located on the exposed areas. Conclusion: Paederus dermatitis is a major problem in our context and may present itself as a real epidemic. A better information focused on preventive measures could contribute to the reduction of the prevalence of the disease in the population.