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. 2019 Apr 8;19(1):5.
doi: 10.1186/s12895-019-0085-5.

Pattern of skin diseases in children attending a dermatology clinic in a referral hospital in Wolaita Sodo, southern Ethiopia

Abraham Getachew Kelbore  1 , Philip Owiti  2   3 , Anthony J Reid  4 , Efa Ambaw Bogino  5 , Lantesil Wondewosen  5 , Blen Kassahun Dessu  6
Affiliations

Pattern of skin diseases in children attending a dermatology clinic in a referral hospital in Wolaita Sodo, southern Ethiopia

Abraham Getachew Kelbore et al. BMC Dermatol. .

Abstract

Background: Epidemiological studies to determine the pattern of skin diseases among children are important for proper health care planning and management. The purpose of this study was to describe the pattern of skin diseases among pediatric patients seen at a dermatology outpatient clinic of Wolaita Sodo Teaching and Referral Hospital, southern Ethiopia.

Method: We conducted a retrospective hospital-based, cross-sectional study between January 2016 and December 2017 at a teaching and referral hospital dermatology outpatient department. All children younger than 15 years presenting with newly-diagnosed skin diseases were included. Diagnosis was mainly made clinically, with some laboratory support.

Results: A total of 1704 children with 1869 new skin diagnoses were included, of whom 139 (8.2%) had more than one disease. Of the children, 52.4% were males and 44.9% within the age-group 5-10 years. Eczematous dermatitis accounted for the largest group (23.9%, n = 447) of skin conditions followed by bacterial infections (21.3%, n = 398), fungal infections (18.8%, n = 351) and infestations (9.9%, n = 185). Seasonal variation was demonstrated, with eczematous conditions and bacterial infections being higher during autumn and winter.

Conclusion: Overall, eczema, bacterial and fungal infections were the three major pediatric skin diseases occurring among children attending this hospital's outpatient department. There was seasonal variation in some of the skin diseases. This study gives a snapshot of skin disorders presenting to hospital in children in southern Ethiopia and may help to plan dermatology service expansion, educational programs and preventive measures.

Keywords: Epidemiological study; Ethiopia; Hospital-based; Pediatrics; SORT IT; Skin diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Permission to carry out the study was obtained from the Wolaita Sodo Teaching and Referral Hospital. Local ethics approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia. The study was also approved by the Ethics Advisory Group of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France. As this was a record review study with anonymized data, the issue of informed patient consent did not apply.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Seasonal trend of the top five skin diseases among the pediatric patients attending dermatology department at Wolaita Sodo Teaching and Referral Hospital, Ethiopia, January 2016-December 2017
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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