Spectrum of Inpatient Pediatric Dermatology Cases at a Tertiary Health Care Centre in South India

TL;DR

This study examines the types of skin conditions affecting hospitalized children at a major hospital in South India.

Contribution

The study provides the first detailed analysis of inpatient pediatric dermatology cases in a South Indian tertiary care center.

Findings

Inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis and erythroderma were the most common diagnoses.

The majority of patients were school-age children with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1.

Hereditary and bullous skin disorders were also frequently observed.

Abstract

Background

Dermatologists and pediatricians commonly encounter pediatric dermatology cases in their clinical practice, and the number has risen for the past decade. While numerous studies have addressed adult inpatient dermatology cases, there is a lack of data on the same for the pediatric population.

Aim

The study aimed to investigate the spectrum and outcomes of inpatient pediatric dermatology cases at a tertiary health care center.

Methods

This was a hospital-based, cross-sectional study that included children under the age of 16 years with primary skin disorders who were admitted to the pediatric dermatology unit. Patients were categorized into six groups based on their provisional diagnosis for better analysis.

Results

A total of 105 children were admitted, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. The average age of admitted children was 5.8 years, with the majority belonging to the school-going age group, accounting for 44% of the patients.

Conclusion

Inflammatory skin conditions like childhood psoriasis and erythroderma were the most common group of disorders presented to us, followed by hereditary conditions like keratinization disorders and mechanobullous disorders. Pediatric dermatology emergencies (PDEs) require an inter-professional approach for timely intervention and management.

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