This study has highlighted: (i) the high proportion of patients infected with HIV among patients who had SJS/TEN in sub-Saharan Africa; (ii) the high frequency of antiretroviral drugs as new SJS/TEN causes in sub-Saharan Africa; and (iii) the impact of HIV infection on morbidity and mortality of these affections.

Our survey shows that the patterns of vitiligo are similar to that reported from other African countries with a few distinguishing particularities.

BACKGROUND Acne keloidalis nuchae is a chronic condition affecting young adult males of African origin. The frequency of the condition is low but its occurrence has a significant impact on the patient's quality of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective study on data collected over a period of 10 years in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at the Centre National Hospitalier et Universitaire (CNHU) in Cotonou, Benin. We examined 90 files covering the period from 1993 to 2002 in terms of the epidemiologic, clinical and therapeutic features and course of the disease. RESULTS The frequency of acne keloidalis nuchae in patients attending the department for consultations over this period was 0.7%. All patients were male, and their mean age was 29 years. The mean period between disease onset and initial consultation in the department was 29 months. Of the patients diagnosed, 82.22% were seen at the stage when the keloid lesions were small. Lesion size did not appear to depend on the duration of the disease. The mean duration of follow up for the 34 patients reviewed was 22 weeks. In nine cases the lesions had spread and in five cases they had resolved. The treatment proposed depended on the type of lesion, but no effective therapeutic guidelines exist. CONCLUSIONS The study has demonstrated that, once the clinical stage of purely inflammatory lesions has passed, delay in consultation has a negligible effect on the course of the disease, which remains chronic and recurrent. A preventive approach using Information Education Communication (IEC) would be preferable.

This study confirms the low incidence of skin cancer in the black population, the fact that basocellular carcinoma affects a relatively young population, and the predilection of melanoma for acral locations in black individuals.

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Skin bleaching is a public health problem in West Africa most studied in general population. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to evaluate the prevalence of the phenomenon in secondary schools in central Benin. The prevalence of voluntary depigmentation (VD) was 36.6%. The sex ratio was 0.49. Gender was statistically associated with VD (p value < 0.000). Bleaching products used were often hydroquinone (42.2%), and corticosteroid (22.7%). The mean duration of the practice was 20 months. Products were applied over all body twice a day in most students. The main dermatological complications of the practice were discoloration (32.2%), stretch marks (20%), acne (18.5%), and fungal infections (13.1%). Parents funded and chose the bleaching products in most cases. This was the first survey conducted in secondary schools in West Africa targeted voluntary depigmentation. The high prevalence of the practice raises some questions, among them the core values of West African societies.

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