Acne on Pigmented Skin: Epidemiological, Clinical and Therapeutic Features in Dermatology in Benin

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this work was to describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic features of pigmented skin acne in Benin. Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional and analytical study conducted in the dermatology departments of the Borgou-Alibori Departmental Teaching Hospital and the National Teaching Hospital Hubert Koutoukou Maga from January 2017 to December 2018, which has included black-skinned patients who were diagnosed with acne and gave their free and informed consent. The ECLA score was used for clinical evaluation of the severity of the acne. Results: We collected 129 patients including 35 men and 94 women. The median age of the patient was 24.6 years ± 8.5 years. The median age of onset was 17.9 years ± 7.6 years. The main triggering of worsening factors was inadequate self-medication (53.5%), excoriation (48.1%), certain foods (34.9%) and lightening cosmetic (32.5%). Most patients had inflammatory (51.9%) or comedonal (31.8%) acne associated with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentations (70.5%) and excoriated lesions (31%). In the majority of cases, acne was moderate in women (52.1%) and severe in men (62.8%) with p = 9 × 10-3. The lesions were electively seated in the face (95.3%), mainly on the forehead and cheeks. Active cosmetics (76.7%), retinoids (58.9%), oral antibiotics (55.8%), and benzoyl peroxide (48.9%) were the most commonly used therapeutic classes. Conclusion: The majority of young and adult women consulted for predominant inflammatory acne on the forehead and cheeks, moderate in woman and severe in men in Benin. The therapeutic arsenal consisted mainly of active cosmetics, retinoids, antibiotics and benzoyl peroxide.