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Blood transfusion is an essential therapeutic tool in the treatment of sickle cell disease. Its indications and modalities vary from one country to another as a function of the clinical severity of the disease and the availability of blood products. This study seeks to evaluate the frequency and modalities of blood transfusions as well as their indications in patients with sickle cell syndrome at the Dakar hematology department from 1995 through 2015. This retrospective study reviewed the records of a cohort of 1078 patients with SS, SC, Sβ0 and Sβ + thalassemia sickle cell syndromes and collected data about the type of blood products, indications, modalities, and acute transfusion complications. The frequency of transfusion was adjusted for age, sex, and sickle cell profile. The patients' mean age was 23 years (2-44 years) and the sex ratio 0.9. SS disease was predominant (87.4 %); 28.5% had transfusions during the study period. Patients older than 20 years received more transfusions (P = 0.047). The frequency of transfusions did not differ significantly by gender (P = 0.12), but did by profile: a higher percentage of patients with SS disease required transfusion (P = 0.043). Acute anemia was the most common indication for transfusion (50.03 %). Acute transfusion complications were rare (5.8 %). This study shows that less than one third of sickle cell anemia patients in Senegal have transfusions, a finding that confirms that our patients have fewer transfusions than patients in other countries in Africa or in the West. This limited use of transfusion therapy may be related to a less severe level of disease among patients in Senegal, but also to the availability of blood products.

To identify the protozoa responsible for intestinal parasitosis diagnosed at Le Dantec University Hospital in Dakar, Senegal. The retrospective study included 2578 patients for whom stool samples were analyzed from 2011 to 2015. The sex ratio was 1.1. Patients' mean age was 28.5 years, with a range of 11 days to 91 years. Direct examination and the Ritchie technique were performed to search for parasites. In total, 317 patients had intestinal protozoa, for a prevalence of 12.3 %. Infections involved one (91%) or two parasites (9%). The most common species found alone were Entamoeba coli (51.5%), E. histolytica/E. dispar (17 %), and Giardia intestinalis (10.5%). The most common associations were E. coli with G. intestinalis (3.6 %) and with E. histolytica (2.4%). These infections affected significantly more outpatients than inpatients (65 %, p = 0.0049) and slightly more women (51.1%, p = 0.22) than men. Adults accounted for 67% of the confirmed intestinal protozoa: 39% aged 31-60 years, 28% aged 15-30, and only 7% older than 60 (p = 0.5). Most of the protozoa isolated were non-pathogenic. However, health education should be promoted in addition to the mass treatment program already begun to limit and even halt the spread of these neglected diseases.

Introduction Candida infections are most frequently encountered on the skin and nails. Their proportions vary according to geoclimatic and sociocultural conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of skin and/or nail candidiasis diagnosed in the parasitology and mycology laboratory of Le Dantec University Hospital in Dakar, Senegal. Materials and methods This study included 994 patients with suspected skin and/or nail mycosis tested at the parasitology and mycology laboratory during the 8-year study period of 2008-2015. Each patient had both a direct examination and a mycological culture. Results The patients' median age was 34 with an interquartile range of 25 years. Of these 994 patients, 613 had confirmed skins and/or nail fungal infections. In descending order, the fungi isolated and identified from these mycoses were Candida (n= 387, 63.1%), dermatophytes (28.4%), and mold (8.5%). Thus Candida accounted for nearly two thirds of the skin and/or nail mycoses and had a prevalence rate among the patients with suspected skin or nail candidiasis of 38.9%. These skin/nail sites was more common among women (72%) than men (28%), and slightly more than half of them (50,1%) were adults aged 31 to 60 years. The duration of candidiasis exceeded a full year for 76.3%. Onychomycoses were found more frequently (65.24%) than epidermomycoses, and both sites were infected in 5.17%. Candida albicans was the species isolated most frequently, accounting for 80% of Candida specimens. Conclusion Our results reinforce the importance of mycological confirmation of the diagnosis. The mycology laboratory has a crucial role in making the differential diagnosis with other dermatoses of similar clinical appearance and thus in guiding the choice of treatment.