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Background and Objective: Teaching clinical skills to undergraduate medical students has brought significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patient discussion utilized hypothetical cases from history taking to diagnosis and management. Further, everything was delivered online. Target-Oriented Clinical Skill Enhancement (TOCSE) is a teaching and learning tool that integrates the basic medical sciences, such as anatomy, physiology, pathology, microbiology, and pharmacology, at the clinical level. TOCSE has been proven to improve the clinical performance of fourth-year medical students. However, clinical confidence remains an issue, especially for medical students on pure online mode of learning during the pandemic. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine if TOCSE also facilitates the development of confidence in the clinical performance of 4th-year medical students during the first-time patient encounter after online undergraduate classes. Methods: Eight-item Clinical Performance Confidence Scale survey was performed at three (3) time points of fourth-year medical student’s rotation in the Department of Medicine: (1) prior to the deployment to the outpatient department (Pre-OPD), (2) after the first-time patient encounter without TOCSE workshop (Post-OPD no TOCSE), and (3) after the patient encounter with TOCSE workshop (Post-OPD with TOCSE). Mean and standard deviations were used to summarize the confidence level of the 4th-year medical students, based on the 10-point differential scale being 0 as not confident at all and 10 as very confident. Wilcoxon Signed Rank assessed improvements of confidence level from Pre-OPD to Post-OPD. Effect sizes were also calculated to compare the improvement in the items. All statistical tests were performed in SPSS version 26.0. P-values less than 0.05 indicate a significant increase in the confidence level of 4th-year medical students. Results: There is a significant increase in the clinical confidence of 4th-year medical students from Pre-OPD to Post-OPD no TOCSE (mean ± SD: 6.32 ± 1.02 to 7.06 ± 0.95, p

Background: Hypertensive nephrosclerosis is chronic impact of high blood pressure on the kidney. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence, clinical presentation, and evolution of hypertensive nephrosclerosis in patients admitting in our service. Patients and Methods: We performed a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study in nephrology department of Aristide Le Dantec University Hospital in Dakar during a period of 05 years. Patients with long-term hypertension, hypertensive retinopathy, left ventricular hypertrophy, and progressive kidney failure were included. Results: 461 patients were included. Hospital prevalence was 7.7%. Mean age was 56.95±13.23 years and sex ratio was 1.07. Uncontrolled high blood pressure has been found in 400 patients. Mean systolic blood pressure was 168.34 ± 27.57 mmHg. Mean diastolic blood pressure was 97.28±19.59 mmHg. On the urine dipstick, 44 patients had proteinuria (

Background Blood pressure (BP) measurement in the diagnosis and monitoring of hypertension continues to be a topic of debate. The objectives of this study were 1) to evaluate the performance of hemodialysis center BP measurements (routine and standardized BP measurements) in the diagnosis of ambulatory BP in chronic hemodialysis patients using 44h ambulatory BP monitoring (44h-ABPM) as the reference measurement; 2) to compare the performance of standardized and routine BP measurement; and 3) to evaluate the concordance between the values measured at the hemodialysis center and the BP values at 44h-ABPM. Methods In this 23-month case control study including 56 patients followed in the hemodialysis units of Aristide Le Dantec Hospital (HALD) and Idrissa Pouye General Hospital (HOGIP), BP was measured by 3 methods: i) an automated measurement (OMRON®) carried out by health professional called routine BP measurement (RBPM) in pre and post dialysis; ii) the mean of five automated measurements in a patient isolated in a quiet room called standardized BP measurement (SBPM) before and after dialysis; iii) 44h-ABPM with the CONTEC® device. The hypertension was defined as BP ≥ 130/80 mmHg at 44h-ABPM. Results Fifty-six (56) patients including 31 men (55%) with a mean age of 45.20 ± 13.64 years were included. Thirty-one patients (55%) were hypertensive at the 44h-ABPM. Pre-dialysis SBPM was significantly better than pre-dialysis RBPM (AUC [IC 95%], 0.881 [0.778-0.984]/0.785 [0.664-0.907], p=0.02) in detecting 44h ambulatory systolic BP (SBP) ≥ 130 mmHg. Post-dialysis SBPM was also outperformed post-dialysis RBPM (0.916 [0.843-0.988]/0.874 [0.782-0.965]) in detecting 44h ambulatory SBP ≥ 130 mmHg without statistically significant difference. Pre-dialysis SBPM outperformed pre-dialysis RBPM (0.882 [0.776-0.988]/0.878 [0.781-0.975] in detecting 44h ambulatory DBP ≥ 80 mmHg without statistically significant difference. Post-dialysis SBPM also outperformed post-dialysis RBPM (0.914 [0.832-0.996]/0.848 [0.743-0.952]) in detecting 44h ambulatory DBP ≥ 80 mmHg without statistically significant difference. Hemodialysis center measurements overestimate ambulatory BP at 44h-ABPM. Conclusion Hemodialysis center measurements overestimate ambulatory BP despite excellent performance on ROC curve analysis. SBPM performs better than RBPM and in particular in the detection of a SBP ≥ 130 mmHg in the ambulatory setting. SBPM overestimates SBP less than RBPM.

Introduction: It is recommended that patients should start chronic haemodialysis using an arteriovenous fistula (AVF). We aimed to determine the proportion of Senegalese patients who used an AVF at the start of haemodialysis and examined the factors associated with its use.

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.

Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) is a common complication of end-stage renal disease. Surgical management occurs in severe forms and/or unresponsive medical treatment. The aim of this study was to outline the indications of parathyroidectomy and its evolution after surgical approach. It was a five-year multicenter backward study in Otorhinolaryngology Department of Fann Hospital and four dialysis centers in Dakar. We include all patients with SHPT who underwent surgery. Preoperative clinical and paraclinical parameters, clinical-biological evolution, and histology findings of the resected parathyroid specimen were collected. Out of 58 patients with hyperparathyroidism, 18 patients required parathyroidectomy, corresponding to a prevalence of 31%. Mean age of patients was 46.6 ± 15.29 years and sex ratio 0.61. Mean duration on dialysis was 44.4 ± 30 months. Ten patients (55.56%) had bone pain and nine patients (50%) had joint pain. Mean serum calcium was 97.27 ± 8.66 mg/L. Mean blood phosphorus levels were 40.47 ± 9.99 mg/L. Mean iPTH rate was 1493.22 ± 1014.93 ng/mL, with a maximum of 5000 ng/mL (77N). Mean value of 25-OH Vitamin D was 32.89 ± 16.02 ng/mL. Parathyroidectomy was indicated after failure of medical treatment with persistence of a serum intact parathyroid hormone concentration above 800 μg/mL in all patients. Subtotal parathyroidectomy (7/8) was performed in 11 patients (61.1%). Two patients (11.11%) benefited from a selective parathyroidectomy (3/4). Evolution was favorable for 13 patients, corresponding to a success rate of 72.2%. It was unfavorable in five patients including one patient with hypoparathyroidism and four patients with recurrent hyperparathyroidism. Surgery for patients with renal hyperparathyroidism in the era of calcimimetics continues to play an important role in selected patients and achieves efficient control of hyperparathyroidism in developing countries.

Introduction: Senegal has pioneered the implementation of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in West Africa, practicing it since 2004. Non-infectious complications are a significant cause of failure of this technique and the transfer of patients to haemodialysis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and the different types of non-infectious complications in our context. Patients and Methods: This was a 5-year, descriptive, retrospective study of patients on chronic peritoneal dialysis for more than 3 months. Results: During the study period, 75 patients were included. The prevalence of non-infectious complications was 88%, including 45.3% mechanical complications and 76% metabolic complications. Catheter migration was the most common mechanical complication (55.9%), followed by catheter blockage (23.5%). Metabolic complications were dominated by hypoalbuminemia (76.3%). Dyslipidaemia and hypokalaemia affected more than 50% of patients, occurring in 59.3% and 56.9% of cases, respectively. Conclusion: In our study, non-infectious complications related to PD were frequent and varied. They remain a significant cause of technical failure. Mechanical complications are often the cause of permanent transfer to haemodialysis.

Germinal center regulation pathways are often involved in lymphomagenesis and myelomagenesis. Most of the lymphomas (and multiple myeloma) derive from post-germinal center B-cells that have undergone somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination. Hence, B-cell clonal expansion can be responsible for the presence of a monoclonal component (immunoglobulin) of variable titer which, owing to physicochemical properties, can provoke pathologically defined entities of diseases. These diseases can affect any functional part of the kidney, by multiple mechanisms, either well known or not. The presence of renal deposition is influenced by germinal gene involved, immunoglobulin primary structure, post-translational modifications and microenvironmental interactions. The two ways immunoglobulin can cause kidney toxicity are (i) an excess of production (overcoming catabolism power by proximal tubule epithelial cells) with an excess of free light chains within the distal tubules and a subsequent risk of precipitation due to local physicochemical properties; (ii) by structural characteristics that predispose immunoglobulin to a renal disease (whatever their titer). The purpose of this manuscript is to review literature concerning the pathophysiology of renal toxicities of clonal immunoglobulin, from molecular B-cell expansion mechanisms to immunoglobulin renal toxicity.

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.

Background and Aims The lethality and cost of chronic kidney disease (CKD) management are high in Senegal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the access in dialysis at Senegalese public’s hospitals. Method This was a retrospective cohort during 4 years (2014-2018) from the hemodialysis registry waiting list at Aristide Le Dantec University Hospital. This registry is composed by: a registration form (social survey and doctor's visa); a written letter addressed to hospital director and the national identity card. From this registry, telephone calls were made to collect data relating to mortality and access to dialysis. Results seven hundred fifty-one (751) files were collected. The mean age of the patients was 48.12 ± 15.28 years with a sex ratio of 1.02. The socioeconomic level was low in 85.40% (521/610) and average in 13.61% (83/610). The geographic origin was rural in 11.15%, semi-urban in 07.54% and urban in 81.31%. Ten patients (1.64%) had medical care coverage. On call, 49.70% (373/751) were died before accessing to public dialysis, 29.70% (223/751) had accessed public dialysis and 04.00% (30/751) didn’t yet need dialysis. Hundred twenty-one (16.10%) were unreachable and 0.50% (4/751) was unknown. Conclusion The lethality of CKD was high. Access to dialysis in public hospital remains problematic in Senegal despite its democratization. Additional efforts are needed for effective management of all patients at dialysis stage.

Introduction: The aims of this study were to assess the impact of isonatraemic haemodialysis on reduction of interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) and blood pressure (BP) as well as its tolerability in our study population. Methods: This crossover trial, at the Aristide Le Dantec University Hospital in Senegal, was conducted on 32 patients with kidney failure who were stable on treatment with chronic haemodialysis. In the initial “control phase”, patients had nine haemodialysis sessions with a dialysate sodium (Na+) concentration (Na+ dialysate) of 138 mmol/L. The serum Na+ set point (SP) for each patient was calculated from three predialytic mid-week values. In the second phase, the “individualized phase”, patients had nine haemodialysis sessions with Na+ dialysate equal to their SP. Results: The mean age of the patients was 55.5 ± 12.1 years, with a male/female ratio of 1.3 and the most common cause of kidney disease was hypertension (47%). Mean predialytic serum Na+ concentration was 135.8 ± 1.9 mmol/L, with a mean intra-individual coefficient of variation of 2%. Mean interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) was 1.9 kg and 1.8 kg in the control and individualized phases, respectively (P = 0.75). A reduction in postdialytic systolic blood pressure (BP) was observed during the individualized phase (P = 0.04). A similar trend was noted in pre- and intradialytic BP but this was not statistically significant. Apart from headaches, which were more common in the individualized phase (P = 0.04), isonatraemic haemodialysis was well tolerated. Conclusions: IDWG as well as pre- and intradialytic BP were unaffected by isonatraemic haemodialysis. Postdialytic BP was significantly reduced. Introduction: Les objectifs de cette étude étaient d’évaluer l’impact de l’hémodialyse isonatrémique sur la réduction de la prise de poids inter-dialytique (PPID) et de la pression artérielle (PA) ainsi que sa tolérance dans notre population d’étude. Méthodes: Cet essai croisé a été mené au centre hospitalier universitaire Aristide Le Dantec de Dakar (Sénégal) chez des patients hémodialysés chroniques. Durant la première phase dite « phase contrôle », les patients ont eu neuf séances d’hémodialyse avec une concentration de sodium dans le dialysat (Na+ dialysat) de 138 mmol/L. Le set-point (SP) de la natrémie a été calculé pour chaque patient et correspondait à la moyenne de 3 natrémies pré-dialytiques en milieu de semaine. Durant la deuxième phase dite « phase individualisée », les patients ont eu neuf séances d’hémodialyse avec du Na+ dialysat égal à leur SP. Résultats: Trente-deux patients ont été inclus. L’âge moyen était de 55,5 ± 12,1 ans avec un ratio homme/femme de 1,3 et la néphropathie initiale la plus fréquente était l’hypertensive (47%). La natrémie pré-dialytique moyenne était de 135,8 ± 1,9 mmol/L, avec un coefficient de variation intra-individuel moyen de 2 %. La PPID moyenne était de 1,9 kg et 1,8 kg dans les phases de contrôle et individualisé, respectivement (P = 0,75). Une diminution de la PA systolique post-dialytique a été observée au cours de la phase individualisée (P = 0,04). Une tendance similaire sans significativité statistique a été notée sur les PA pré- et intra-dialytiques. Hormis les céphalées, plus fréquentes pendant la phase individualisée (P = 0,04), l’hémodialyse isonatrémique a été bien tolérée. Conclusions: La PPID, les PA pré- et intra-dialytiques n’ont pas été affectées par l’hémodialyse isonatrémique. La PA post-dialytique était significativement réduite.

Les calcifications metastatiques representent une complication parfois severe de l´insuffisance renale chronique terminale. Leurs consequences cardiovasculaires ont ete associees a l´augmentation de la morbi-mortalite. Nous rapportons l´observation d´une malade presentant une hyperparathyroidie tertiaire complique de calcifications cardiovasculaires dont l´evolution a ete fatale conduisant au deces de la patiente. La prevention constitue la meilleure arme therapeutique et la parathyroidectomie (PTX) pourrait utiliser comme traitement de sauvetage.

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.

L´objectif de ce travail était de faire un état des lieux de l´hémodialyse chronique pédiatrique au Sénégal. Il s´agissait d´une enquête transversale descriptive et analytique concernant tous les centres publics ayant admis des enfants en hémodialyse chronique du 1er janvier 2016 au 31 décembre 2017; sur les 08 centres fonctionnels à cette période, 06 ont été retenus. Au total, nous avions recensés 311 patients hémodialysés dont 08% (n=25) étaient des enfants. L´âge moyen des enfants dialysés était de 13,92 ans ± 3,67 ans. Le sex-ratio était de 0,66. Les glomérulonéphrites chroniques identifiées représentaient 24% (n=6) dont 50% (n=3) de HSF primitive. La fistule artério-veineuse (FAV) était utilisée dans 36% (n=9) des cas. Le consommable de dialyse utilisé était gratuit pour tous les enfants et leur famille (100%). La presque totalité des enfants dialysés 96% (n=24) étaient régulièrement hémodialysés à raison de trois séances par semaine. Le décès était observé chez 44% (n=11) au cours des 16 premiers mois après l´initiation à la dialyse. Parmi les patients vivants, 86% (n=12) étaient toujours en hémodialyse. Un patient avait été transféré en dialyse péritonéale continue ambulatoire (DPCA) et un autre transplanté en France grâce à un don intrafamilial; les débuts de l´hémodialyse pédiatrique au Sénégal étaient confrontés à de nombreuses difficultés liées au faible accès des enfants malgré la gratuité de la dialyse et le vote de la loi autorisant la transplantation rénale depuis décembre 2015. Nous recommandons l´élaboration d´un projet thérapeutique pour la prévention et la prise en charge des enfants atteints de maladie rénale chronique.

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.

Introduction: High blood pressure (HBP) is a worldwide health issue responsible of high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Even though essential HBP is far the most frequently reported in patients, secondary causes must be known because of their severity and the possibility of aetiological treatment. No recent epidemiological data are available about secondary causes of HBP in black African populations. The aim of this study was to describe aetiological patterns of secondary HBP in patients followed at Saint-Louis Hospital. Patients and Method: We conducted a retrospective and descriptive study in regional hospital of Saint-Louis. All patients aged ≥15 years old admitted from January 1st 2011 to January 31st 2015 in internal medicine, nephrology, emergency and cardiology departments were included. Clinical, paraclinical data and patients outcomes were collected from medical records. Hypertension was defined according to JNC8 criteria. Secondary HBP was considered if explorations identified a clear aetiology to hypertension. Statistical analysis was done with Excel 2010 and STATA 12.0. Results: We included 9253 patients with mean age of 35 ± 12 years (15 - 83 years) and sex-ratio of 1.6. Overall 67.5% of patients had hypertension and secondary causes were found in 10.5% of them. The majority of patients presented clinical symptoms suggesting a secondary cause of HBP and first-line laboratory explorations were normal in half of cases. Renal diseases were responsible for 79.1% of secondary HBP cases mainly dominated by glomerulonephritis (22.6%), vascular nephropathies (18.7%) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (5.8%). They were followed by preeclampsia (13.6%) and endocrinal aetiologies such as hyperthyroidism (5.8%), hypercorticism (0.5%), pheochromcytoma (0.5%), primary hyperparathyroidism (0.4%) and Conn’s adenoma (0.1%). Combination of ≥3 antihypertensive drugs was necessary in 71.5% of cases and surgical treatment was performed in three patients. Blood pressure was normalized in only 27.7% of patients. Conclusion: Secondary causes are frequent in our young patients with HBP. In the majority of patients complete clinical examination and minimal laboratory investigations recommended by World Health Organisation can give an aetiological orientation that needs further radiological and hormonal explorations.

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.

Summary: Tuberculosis is a common infectious disease in chronic hemodialysis due to alteration of the immune system associated with chronic kidney disease. The objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis in chronic hemodialysis patients and to identify its diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. Methods and patients: This was a descriptive retrospective study over a period of 20 years (1994-2014). It includes the records of periodic hemodialysis patients in the Nephrology Department of the Aristide Le Dantec University Teaching Hospital in Dakar which clinical symptoms and laboratory favor tuberculosis. Results: Of 258 chronic hemodialysis patients treated in Hospital Aristide Le Dantec hemodialysis center, 29 cases (11.4%) of tuberculosis disease are diagnosed. The mean age is 43.21 ± 12.48 years, and the sex-ratio is 0.8. The median time to onset of tuberculosis after initiation of hemodialysis is 22.86 ± 28.86 months. The diagnosis of tuberculosis is sure only in 17% of cases. Extra-pulmonary sites are found in 79% of cases. The average duration of treatment is 9.39 ± 1.64 months (6 - 13 months). Various treatment protocols are adopted. Mortality is 21%, 50% due to disseminated tuberculosis. Conclusion: The diagnosis of tuberculosis in the chronic hemodialysis patients is often difficult due to the atypical symptoms, the frequency of extra-pulmonary location and the lack of evidence of sure diagnosis.

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: The objectives of this work were to assess haemodialytic patients' quality of life (QoL) and to identify factors affecting this QoL. Patients and Methods: It was a three (03) month monocen- tric and transversal study (from October 24, 2011 to January 27, 2012) conducted in the haemodialy- sis unit at Hubert Koutoukou Maga Teaching Hospital (CNHU-HKM) in Cotonou. Patients included were residents of Benin, aged 18 years and above, chronic haemodialysis in this unit for over 3 months, and willfully gave their consent. Quality of life was evaluated using questionnaire on Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short-Form French version 1.2 (KDQoL-SF 36). Epidemiological data, nephro- pathy etiologies and purification parametres were recorded in patients files. Data statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software 11.5. Results: In total 131 patients were involved in the study. The average age was 50.27 ± 12.17 years with a sex ratio of 1.69. Nephroangiosclerosis was the 1st cause. Most patients 128 (97.71 %) received two haemodialysis sessions on weekly basis. The Aver- age Overall Score (AOS) based respectively on SF 36 and KDQoL was 48.55 and 58.55. The average of both SF 36 and KDQoL AOS was 53.55. Factors affecting hemodialytic patients quality of life were vi- tality, limitations related to mental health and physical condition, burden of kidney disease, effect of the disease on daily life and occupational status. The study revealed that: Patients education level was correlated with vitality (p < 0.017); The number of haemodialyses sessions was correlated with the consequences of kidney disease on daily life (p < 0.025). Conclusion: It is necessary to streng- then the staff by providing a psychologist and a dietician and also build new haemodialysis centres.

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.

The goal of this study is to provide a framework for future researchers to understand and use the FARSITE wildfire-forecasting model with data assimilation. Current wildfire models lack the ability to provide accurate prediction of fire front position faster than real-time. When FARSITE is coupled with a recursive ensemble filter, the data assimilation forecast method improves. The scope includes an explanation of the standalone FARSITE application, technical details on FARSITE integration with a parallel program coupler called OpenPALM, and a model demonstration of the FARSITE-Ensemble Kalman Filter software using the FireFlux I experiment by Craig Clements. The results show that the fire front forecast is improved with the proposed data-driven methodology than with the standalone FARSITE model.