[Erectile dysfonction after stroke in Brazzaville]. / Dysfonction érectile après un accident vasculaire cérébral à Brazzaville.

INTRODUCTION: Erectile dysfunction is one of the disability post-stroke the least documented. However, it affects the quality of life, not only the patient but also the couple. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work was to study the characteristics of erectile dysfunction after stroke. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical data collection survey conducted from February to October 2011, having identified, 104 patients for follow-up post-stroke, seen in outpatient Neurology University Hospital of Brazzaville and in the functional rehabilitation centers. Among them 54 had erectile dysfunction. The parameters studied were: age, marital status, history, vascular risk factors, and the location of the hemiplegic, the etiology of stroke, modified Rankin score and NIHSS. The clinical features and laboratory, the international index of erectile dysfunction (IIEF-5) in its French version. SPSS 12 was used for recording and statistical analysis of data. Chi(2) test was used for comparisons. The significance level was P≤0.05. RESULTS: The frequency of erectile dysfunction after stroke was 51.92%, the average age was 56.32 years. The mean time to onset of erectile dysfunction after stroke was 5 months. The onset was progressive in 70,4%. The hypercholesterolemia was well correlated with the risk of erectile dysfunction (P=0.007) and its severity (P=0,01). Erectile dysfonction was moderate in 61.1% and almost bearable in half the cases. CONCLUSION: Erectile dysfunction post-stroke is common with an impact in the lives of the couple. High cholesterol is an independent risk factor of occurrence of post-stroke.

[Contribution of vascular ultrasonography in patients with ischemic strokes in Brazzaville (Congo)]. / Apport de l'écho-Doppler vasculaire dans les infarctus cérébraux à Brazzaville (Congo).

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of the carotid lesions during ischemic strokes. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted in Brazzaville from January 2011 to June 2012 in a consecutive series of 73 patients, victims of a transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke, documented by a brain computed tomography. All patients underwent vascular ultrasonography of the supra-aortic trunks, carried out within the framework of etiological assessment. The examination searched for plaques, parietal infiltration (measurement of intima-media thickness), and carotid stenosis or occlusion. RESULTS: There were 49 men (67%) and 24 women (33%), mean age 58.7 ± 11.8 years. Eleven patients (15%) had a transient ischemic attack and 62 (85%) an ischemic stroke. The identified independent vascular risk factors were known and treated hypertension (n=66, 90.4%), dyslipidemia (n=16, 22%), diabetes mellitus (n=9, 12.3%), and smoking (n=5, 6.8%), with on average 2.5 factors per individual. Vascular ultrasonography of the supra-aortic trunks, normal in 44 patients (60.3%) was pathological in the other 29 (39.7%). The main anomalies were atheromatous plaque (n=10, 13.7%), parietal infiltration (n=19, 26%). On average intima-media thickness was 0.86 ± 0.11 mm on the left and 0.83 ± 0.11 mm on the right. Two cases of moderate stenosis were noted on the right and left internal carotids, respectively. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study confirms the existence of carotid atherosclerosis anomalies during ischemic strokes. These lesions, though non-significant, must nevertheless be taken into consideration when searching for the cause of stroke in high-risk vascular patients.