Shoulder pain: epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects at Ignace Deen National Hospital in Conakry, Guinea

Abstract

Background: Shoulder pain is a frequent reason for consultation in medicine.
Objective: To describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of shoulder pain in the Ignace Deen National Hospital of Conakry, Guinea.
Design: This was a prospective study of descriptive type with a duration of one year from June 1, 2020 to June 1, 2021.
Methods: All patients who consulted the Rheumatology and Physical Medicine Department for shoulder pain were included in this study.
Results: We collected 1561 patients who consulted during the study period, of whom 217 (13.9%) had shoulder pain with an average age of 51.2 years. There was a predominance of women in 114 (52.5%) of the cases with a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.9. Housewives were the most affected 73 (33.7%) of cases. Pain was severe in 41% of patients with a VAS of 7/10. Rotator cuff injuries were the most common in 146 (67%) and the treatment was dominated by the combination of level I and II analgesics in 113 (52%) and physical therapy in 136 (62.7%) of cases.
Conclusion: Shoulder pain was frequent in the most active segment of the population, with a female predominance. It is often intense and of mechanical type evolving towards chronicity and accompanied by a functional impotence, the treatment remains conservative associated with the taking of analgesic.

Key words: Pain, Shoulder, Conakry, Guinea