Contribution of Endoscopy to the Diagnosis of Anorectal Pathology in N'Djamena: An Analysis of Explorations in 842 Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Anorectal disorders, often unacknowledged, are common in gastroenterology consultations. Anorectoscopy plays a vital role in their diagnosis. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of anorectal pathology in N'Djamena hospitals. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study spread over 10 years (January 01, 2014 to December 31, 2023). The digestive endoscopy unit of CHU-RN served as our setting. The data were collected from the register of anorectoscopy reports. All usable reports were included. Sphinx and SPSS software were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 948 anorectoscopies were performed out of a total of 1052 lower GI endoscopies. Eight hundred and forty-two (842) presented lesions (88.8%). The mean age of patients was 49 years, with extremes of 18 and 84 years. Male predominance was observed, with a sex ratio of 3. Hematochezia was the most common indication in 52.9% of cases, followed by proctalgia (41.7%). Endoscopic lesions were dominated by hemorrhoidal disease (46.7%), erosive anites (16.1%) and rectitis (10.%). A statistically significant relationship was found between hematochezia and hemorrhoidal disease. Anorectal tumors were poorly represented (7.9%). Conclusion: Anorectal diseases are frequent and present a clinical and lesional polymorphism, dominated in our context by haemorrhoidal disease.