Writer&amp;apos;s Cramp in Yaoundé (Cameroon): Series of 5 Cases

Mbonda Paul-Cedric,Gams Massi Daniel,Fogang Yannick,Noutsa Laura,Djientcheu Vincent De Paul

doi:10.11648/j.ajpn.20210903.11

Abstract

Writer's cramp is focal dystonia, occurring during writing. Its prevalence is very low in the general population and this pathology therefore considered a rare disease. Its diagnosis is clinical but treatment is still a problem in developing countries because botulinum toxin is not yet available. There is little data in sub-Saharan Africa on writer's cramp. We report a series of 5 cases observed at the Yaounde General Hospital (Cameroon). Methods: We carried out descriptive and prospective work, in which we collected clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and evolutionary data from patients who came for outpatient consultations for the writer's cramp during 2020 at the Yaounde General Hospital. Results: The prevalence of this pathology in neurology consultation was 0.29%. These were three women and two men, with an average age of 32.8 years. All had non-contributory personal and family backgrounds. They all received a drug treatment based on trihexyphenidyle, muscle relaxants, anxiolytics, associated with physiotherapy. Baclofen was started in the event of failure on trihexyphenidyl, only one patient received botulinum toxin. The outcome was favorable in a single patient, two-thirds of the patients learned to write with the opposite hand. Conclusion: Writer's cramp is an infrequent condition, very often underdiagnosed. It has a real impact on the quality of life because care is difficult, particularly in our context.

Highlights

Writer's cramp is an abnormal movement manifested by difficulty in writing, which becomes painful and even impossible
We report a series of 5 cases observed at the Yaoundé General Hospital (Cameroon)
We report a series of five patients followed in outpatient consultations for the writer's cramp during 2020 at the Yaoundé General Hospital

Summary

Introduction

Writer's cramp is an abnormal movement manifested by difficulty in writing, which becomes painful and even impossible It belongs to the dystonia groups [1]. It is a so-called focal dystonia, it affects only one part of the body (the hand or the arm), and a functional dystonia because it only occurs during the performance of a particular task that is writing. It manifests as abnormal posture and movement of the hand, wrist, fingers, occurring during writing secondary to involuntary contraction of affected muscles, and activation of inappropriate muscles [2].

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Discussion

Conclusion