Search

Nephrology was a relatively poorly known specialty in sub-Saharan Africa until the early 1980s, because of low awareness and lack of access to diagnosis and renal replacement therapies. Nephrology has seen progress on the continent despite an unfavourable economic and geopolitical environment. With a prevalence of fewer than five nephrologists per million inhabitants, the training of nephrologists, now carried out on the continent, allowed to have more than 200 specialists trained in the last decade in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. Clinical and basic research is developing with quality work published from the continent in major international journals. The population receiving haemodialysis remains small, between 0 and 200 per million inhabitants. Kidney transplantation, with a prevalence between 0 and 5 per million inhabitants, is only well structured in South Africa. In this context of scarce resources, a strategy based on the prevention of non-communicable diseases in general, and chronic kidney disease in particular, should be prioritised.

Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy is the most common cause of kidney disease in diabetics. However, in some cases the clinical symptoms is not typical and nephropathy may be different from diabetic and require the use of renal biopsy (RB) which is not usually indicated unless non-diabetic nephropathy (NND) is suspected. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of non-diabetic nephropathy (NDN) among the diabetic patients and to analyse the different predictive factors of its occurrence. Patients and methods: It was a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study which is carried out at the nephrology department of Aristide Le DANTEC hospital of Dakar over a period of 60 months. Diabetics with suspected NDN diagnosis based on renal anomalie that is associated with a recent diabetes, Acute renal failure with rapid progress, Diabetic retinopathy’s absence, and Extrarenal signs (cutaneous, digestive and articular) associated with an acute renal failure. Microscopic haematuria was included. The epidemiological, clinical, biological and histological parameters were collected and analysed using the SPSS, 3.5 version software. Results: Out of 34 biopsied diabetic patients, 12 had NDN that is a prevalence of 35, 3%. The average age was 49.88 ± 4.15 years, 0.78 for the sex-ratio and the mean duration of diabetes is 12.53 ± 4.7 years. Glomerular syndrome was found in 30 patients (88.23%), vascular nephropathy syndrome in 3 patients (8.82%) and tubule-interstitial nephropathy syndrome in only one patient (2.94%). Diabetic retinopathy (DR) and microscopic haematuria (HU) respectively existed in 10 patients (34%) and 15 patients (44. 12%). The Kidney biopsy (KB) indications were renal abnormalities associated with recent diabetes, acute renal failure with rapid progress, absence of DR, extrarenal signs associated with acute renal failure and microscopic haematuria. Twenty-two patients (64.7%) had diabetic nephropathy (DN) and 12 patients (38.2%) presented a NDN. Predictive factors of NDN diagnosis were a shorter diabetes duration (P = 0.0008), high blood pressure (P = 0.0015) and absence of DR (P = 0.005). Conclusion: Our data show that kidney injury in a diabetic is not always diabetic nephropathy. The Kidney biopsy (KB) is often needed in order to adopt an effective management.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis and increasing cardiovascular risk which is recognized as a major cause of morbidity and death. Whether subclinical atherosclerosis has been evaluated by several methods, there are very limited data about Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The aim of the present study was to compare this index, between SLE patients and controls. We conducted a case-control study in the Department of Internal Medicine of our institution during the period from August 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. We included 100 subjects, including 50 SLE patients and 50 control cases. This included 44 women and 6 men in patients with an identical distribution in controls. The mean age was 33.5 ± 11.3 years for cases and 33.3 ± 11.3 years (p-value: 0.93) for controls subjects. There was higher frequency of cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia (p-value at 0.009), low level of serum HDL-cholesterol (p-value 0.001), hypertriglyceridemia (p-value at 0.000) and hyperuricemia (p-value at 0.000) in patients with SLE. Overweight/obesity was higher in controls subjects (p-value at 0.028). There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of diabetes-mellitus, smoking and high blood pressure. The abnormally ABI was recorded in 19 patients with SLE (38%) and 8 controls (16%) with a p-value: 0.01 and odds ratio: 3.22. Eight patients (16%) and four controls (8%) had low ABI without significant difference (p-value: 0.11 but odds-ratio at 2.98). Eleven patients with SLE (22%) and five controls (10%) had high ABI (p-value: 0.05 and odds-ratio: 3.24). In patients with SLE only disease activity (cSLEDAI) at the inclusion of the study was correlated to abnormal ABI. Conclusion: This study showed an increasing prevalence of abnormal ABI in black African patients with SLE compared to controls with a correlation between disease activity and abnormal ABI.

Introduction: Renal disease (RD) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a decisive turning point in the development and prognosis of this disease. In Africa, the prevalence varies between 2.5% and 48.6%. In Senegal, little data are available in the literature. The objective of our study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and progressional aspects in patients living with HIV (PLWHIV). Patients and methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study carried out over a 10-year period in the Department of Internal Medicine and Nephrology at the Aristide Le Dantec Hospital in Dakar, Senegal. We included all 15-year old and above PLHIV with available CD4 count and viral load. Results: Out of 248 PLHIV, 32 had kidney disease (KD), which means a hospital prevalence of 12.9%. The mean age was 51.22 ± 10 years (extremes of 36 and 77 years) with a sex ratio (male/female) of 1.28. Renal signs were dominated by glomerular nephropathy syndrome. It was present at 80%. Tubulo-interstitial nephropathy syndrome and chronic uremic syndrome accounted for 6.25% and 3.1% of cases, respectively. Renal function Impairment was present in 21 patients with 18 cases of acute kidney injury (85.7%) and 3 cases of chronic renal failure (14.3%), including 2 in stage 5 of chronic kidney disease. Renal biopsy (RB) was indicated and performed in 20 (62.5%) patients with glomerular signs in 12 patients (60%). Glomerular lesions were dominated by focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in 6 cases, membraneous nephropathy (MN) in 4 cases and minimal change disease (MCD) in 2 cases. Tubulo-interstitial and vascular lesions were present in 45% and 12.5% of cases, respectively. In highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), 12 (37.5%) patients had total remission, 9 (28.12%) had partial remission. One (3.12%) death from severe metabolic acidosis on chronic renal failure was deplored. Conclusion: This study illustrates the high prevalence of RD in PLHIV in our exercise context.

Introduction: Hyperuricemia is defined as a level of serum uric acid greater than or equal to 70 mg/l (420 μmol/l) in men and 60 mg/l (360 μmol/l) in women. Several studies have shown that it is a risk factor or a factor of progression of chronic kidney disease. Recent experimental and epidemiological data correlate the association of hyperuricemia with chronic kidney disease (CKD), arterial hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, thus raising the question of the usefulness of therapeutics in the prevention of renal diseases. The objective of this study is to seek a link between chronic kidney disease and hyperuricemia. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive and analytical study conducted at hemodialysis unit and cardiology service of General Hospital of National reference of N’Djamena (Chad) from 1th January to 1th October 2013 (10 months). We included all chronic kidney disease patients hospitalized in hemodialysis unit and cardiology service who presented associated hyperuricemia. Results: There were 712 CKD patients who were hospitalized. Among them, there were 108 patients who were included in the study and who had hyperuricemia as a prevalence of 15.20%. The average age of patients was 35.5 years and the sex ratio was 3/1. The age group between 40 to 60 years represented 54.6%. There were 41.7% of traders. Hypertensive patients accounted for 49.1%; association of diabetes and hypertension was noted in 12.90%. Renal insufficiency was moderate in 43.5% of patients. Hyperuricemia was present in more than 90% of patients. Profession, age, hematuria, proteinuria and hypertension were statistically positively related to hyperuricemia. Treatment consisted of prescribing allopurinol in 84% of patients. In more than 11% of patients the progression was unfavorable. Conclusion: The implication of hyperuricemia in chronic kidney disease has been proved in several recent studies. However, randomized studies at very long scales have to be carried out to conclude from its real impact on the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease.

Introduction: Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome represents 25% to 30% of glomerulonephritis in adults. These glomerulonephritides are responsible of about the half of chronic kidney failure examined as well in United States as in Europe or Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the anatomoclinic, therapeutic and progression patterns of idiopathic nephritic syndrome in Dakar. Patients and Methods: It is a retrospective ten-year study in the nephrology department of Aristide Le Dantec Hospital. Patients with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome were included. We analyzed anatomoclinic, therapeutic and progression data of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Results: On 202 patients with nephrotic syndrome, 156 (77%) were primitive. The mean age was 29.7 ± 12 years with a sex ratio of 2.4. Edema was found in 98 patients (62.8%) and hypertension in 63 patients (40%). The mean proteinuria was 6.8 ± 4.8 g/24h. Histologic lesions found at renal biopsy were focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in 71 patients (45.5%), minimal change disease in 68 patients (43.5%) and membranous nephropathy in 8 patients (5%). 134 patients (85.8%) received steroids alone, 12 patients (7.6%) received cyclophosphamide and 4 patients (2.5%) azathioprine in association with steroids. 44 patients (28.2%) reached remission. The factors of poor prognosis were: age, above 40 years, proteinuria above 10 g/24h, existence of renal failure at admission, absence of use of steroids therapy. Conclusion: This study shows that idiopathic nephrotic syndrome is frequent in our country with a prevalence of 77%. The most common lesion found at the renal biopsy is the focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Remission is found only in 28% which is very low. 33% of patients progress towards chronic kidney disease due to the lack of early diagnosis and the use of traditional medicine.

Renal cortical necrosis (RCN) is anecdotal in malaria. To our knowledge, RCN secondary to Plasmodium malariae has not yet been published. We report a case of severe malaria complicated by RCN. A 29 year old Senegalese patient was transferred to our department for anuria in a context of severe malaria. The diagnosis was RCN secondary to a severe Plasmodium malariae malaria. Physical examination showed anuria, anaemic syndrome, haemorrhagic syndrome and a generally impaired condition. There was a normocytic normochromic anaemia aplastic, thrombocytopenia leukocytosis of 11.580/mm3, serum creatinine of 12.45 mg/dl and blood urea of 252 mg/dl. The Plasmodium malariae had been shown to thick blood film with high parasite density. The molecular study was able to confirm the infestation of this parasite. Treatment consisted of four haemodialysis sessions and antimalarial molecules. Initial evolution was favourable with a recovery through diuresis and a partial improvement in renal function. Given the persistence of impaired renal function, a renal biopsy was performed. This confirmed the RCN. At last consultation, he had no symptoms and his last glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was 30 mL/min/1.73 m2.

Background: Crescentic extra-capillary glomerulonephritis (ECGN) is a diagnostic and therapeutic emergency. In black Africans, little data are available on this lesion. This study aimed at determining the clinical/biological and evolutionary patterns of ECGN and identifying factors of poor prognosis. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted over a period of 5 years. All patients with extra-capillary proliferation of ≥ 50% in Bowman’s space upon kidney biopsy were involved. The researchers compared 2 groups of patients: group A (patients, who fully recovered from renal function after 3 months of treatment) and group B (patients developing signs of chronic renal insufficiency) in order to identify factors responsible for a poor renal prognosis. Results: Forty cases of crescentic glomerulonephritis were found in 750 kidney biopsies, i.e. a prevalence of 5.33%. The mean age of the patients was 33.9 ± 16.65 years, with a gender ratio of 0.53. Upon admission, 85% of cases had renal insufficiency, with oligoanuria present in 62.5%. By employing light microscopy, the crescents were found to be cellular in 60%, fibro-cellular in 32.5%, and fibrous in 7.5%. The etiologies were mainly lupus in 32.5% of cases, followed by ANCA-related vasculitis in 27.5% of cases, and infectious causes in 17.5% of cases. Outside of the infectious context, basic treatment relied on immune suppression combining corticosteroids and cytotoxic drugs. The evolution was marked by transition to a chronic state in 72.7% of cases; 18.2% of patients recovered normal renal function. The factors responsible for a poor renal prognosis were oligoanuria (P = 0.0008), high creatinine level upon admission (P = 0.0001), use of hemodialysis (P = 0.0001), and evidence of fibro-cellular and fibrous crescents (P = 0.013). Conclusions: Crescentic glomerulonephritis was relatively common in the current patients. The etiology was dominated by lupus in the study’s context. This rapidly causes chronic renal failure, hence explaining the interest in early management.

Introduction L’objectif de ce travail était d’analyser les caractéristiques diagnostiques, thérapeutiques et évolutives de l’enfant atteint de néphrose dans un service de pédiatrie de Dakar. Méthodes L’étude était réalisée au service de pédiatrie de l’hôpital Aristide Le Dantec. Il s’agissait d’une étude rétrospective sur une période de 03 ans allant du 1er janvier 2012 au 31 décembre 2014. Ont été inclus tous les patients âgés de 02 ans à 12 ans présentant un tableau de Syndrome néphrotique idiopathique. Résultats Quarante cas de néphrose étaient colligés soit une prévalence de 23% parmi les néphropathies prises en charge dans le service. L’âge moyen était de 7,11± 3,14 ans. Le syndrome néphrotique était pur chez 72,5% (n=29) des patients. Les œdèmes des membres inférieurs étaient présents chez 100% des patients, l’oligurie dans 55% (n=22) et l’HTA dans 5% (n=2) des cas. La protéinurie moyenne était de 145,05 ± 85,54 mg/kg/24heures. La protidémie moyenne était de 46,42 ±7,88 g/L et l’albuminémie moyenne de 17,90 ± 7,15 g/L. Trente-neuf patients avaient reçu une corticothérapie à base de prednisone. La corticosensibilité était retenue chez 77% (n=30) des patients et la corticorésistance chez 13% (n=5) des cas. Le facteur de mauvaise réponse à la corticothérapie était un niveau de protéinurie initiale supérieure à 150 mg/kg/jour (p = 0,024). La biopsie rénale était réalisée chez 18% (n=7) des patients et retrouvait dans 57,2% (n=4) des cas une hyalinose segmentaire et focale. Le cyclophosphamide et l’azathioprine étaient associés aux corticoïdes dans 10% (n=4) des cas chacun. Le taux de rémission globale était de 89,8%. L’évolution vers l’insuffisance rénale chronique était notée chez trois (03) des patients. Conclusion La néphrose représentait près du quart des néphropathies prises en charge dans notre service. Le taux de rémission globale était élevé. Le seul facteur de mauvaise réponse à la corticothérapie était le niveau de protéinurie initiale élevée. En cas d’indication de la biopsie rénale chez nos patients, la HSF était la lésion la plus fréquemment retrouvée.

IntroductionPeritoneal dialysis (PD) is occasionally used in western sub-Saharan Africa to treat patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The present study is a retrospective review of the initial six years’ experience with PD for ESRD therapy in Senegal, a West African country with a population of over 12 million.Material and MethodsSingle-center retrospective cohort study of patients treated with PD between March 2004 and December 2010. Basic demographic data were collected on all patients. Peritonitis rates, causes of death and reasons for transfer to hemodialysis (HD) were determined in all patients.ResultsSixty-two patients were included in the study. The median age was 47 ± 13 years with a male/female ratio of 1.21. Nephrosclerosis and diabetic nephropathy were the main causes of ESRD. The mean Charlson score was 3 ± 1 with a range of 2 to 7. Forty five peritonitis episodes were diagnosed in 36 patients (58%) for a peritonitis rate of 1 episode/20 patient-months (0.60 episodes per year). Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most commonly identified organisms. Touch contamination has been implicated in 26 cases (57.7%). In 23 episodes (51%), bacterial cultures were negative. Catheter removal was necessary in 12 cases (26.6%) due to mechanical dysfunction, fungal or refractory infection. Sixteen patients died during the study.ConclusionPeritoneal dialysis is a suitable therapy which may be widely used for ESRD treatment in western sub-Saharan Africa. A good peritonitis rate can be achieved despite the difficult living conditions of patients. Challenges to the development of PD programs include training health care providers, developing an infrastructure to support the program, and developing a cost structure which permits expansion of the PD program.

The monitoring of hypertension (HTN) in dialysis is often delicate with potentially false measurements due to the white coat effect on the one hand and masked HTN (M-HTN) on the other hand. In this population, there is much controversy over the ideal moment for taking blood pressure (BP) and the target values. An answer to these questions is given by home BP measurement that can detect white coat HTN (WC-HTN) and M-HTN. The aim of this study was to determine the respective prevalence of permanent HTN (P-HTN), WC-HTN, M-HTN, and permanently normotensive (P-NTN) in this population and to analyze the risk factors of M-HTN and WC-HTN in hemodialysis (HD) centers in sub-Saharan Africa. This was a multicenter, descriptive, and analytical cross-sectional study conducted over a period of one month and 23 days. Data collection was performed using a home BP measurement form, conventional BP measurement form, and clinical and laboratory data collection form. The study included all patients who could take their BP at home using an electronic BP machine and record results on the BP forms. All analyses were performed using the Sphinx plus software version 5. The significance level for all statistical tests was set at 5%. The mean age of patients was 45.57 years ± 14.11, with a sex ratio of 1.42. The mean duration in dialysis was 57.96 months ± 34.86. Adherence to the home BP measurement was 100% in 71.7%. P-NTN patients were 15.2% (7 patients), WC-HTN patients were 13% (6 patients), M-HTN patients were 17.5% (8 patients), and P-HTN patients were 54.3% (25 patients). A statistically significant association was observed between WC-HTN and age (P = 0.01). In this work, we noted an important proportion of M-HTN and WC-HTN. This result confirms the need for home BP measurement in the follow-up of BP in HD patients.

Scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) is defined as the new onset of accelerated arterial hypertension and /or rapidly progressive oliguric renal failure during the course of systemic sclerosis. It is a rare but life-threatening complication. This formerly serious complication has got a considerable brighter outlook since the introduction of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) however the mortality is still remaining high. We report two cases of SRC which to our knowledge are the firsts described in Dakar. They were two women aged 45 and 32 years, one of them was previously following for systemic sclerosis. Both of them had malignant hypertension associated with rapidly progressive renal failure, the other was put under corticosteroid therapy four months before SRC occurrence. The histological and laboratory finding showed thrombotic microangiopathy. The height blood pressure returned to normal value after treatment with ACE inhibitors. The final outcome was undesirable with the death of one after two months due to the hemodialysis discontinuation and persistence of renal failure in the other.Keywords: Scleroderma renal crisis, corticosteroids, thrombotic microangiopathy, Dakar