Alopecia in consultations in the dermatology department at Burkina Faso: epidemiologic, clinical, and etiologic aspects.

BACKGROUND: Hair loss, or alopecia, in a man or woman can have major psychologic repercussions. AIM: The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiologic, clinical, and etiologic aspects of alopecia in our service. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed over two years. All patients of both sexes, who consulted a dermatologist for alopecia, were included. Sociodemographic, clinical, and etiologic data were collected. RESULTS: The prevalence of alopecia is 1.02%. It generally concerns young people who are pupils or students. Hair loss was generally asymptomatic; the onset was often progressive. Alopecia was diffuse in 13.20% of cases. It was noted that 13.20% involved partial alopecia. The scalp was scarred or inflamed in 54.71% of cases. Tinea (21 cases), Alopecia areata (14 cases), Keloid folliculitis (6 cases), androgenetic alopecia (4 cases), traction alopecia (4 cases) and cosmetic alopecia (2 cases) were the most common etiologies we found in our patients. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study shows few epidemiologic, clinic and etiological aspects of the alopecia in Black African.

[Counseling in dermatology and cosmetology at pharmacies in Ouagadougou]. / Le conseil dermatologique et cosmétologique en officine à Ouagadougou.

In Burkina Faso as in other underdeveloped countries, access to health care in general and dermatology care in particular remains difficult. This situation puts pharmacies on the front line for providing counselling. We undertook a cross-sectional descriptive study of the pharmacies of Ouagadougou from October 1, 2002, through April 1, 2003. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence of dermatological and cosmetic counselling. The study included 75.5% of all pharmacies and 150 service providers. Prevalence of dermatology counseling was considered moderate, as was the availability and use of dermatology products. Service providers did not know most of the common dermatology disorders and offered inappropriate advice and products. This study shows the gap between the need for counselling from pharmacies and its satisfaction. It also underlines the necessity of reorganization in this domain.