Infectious Skin Disorders Encountered in Children Attending the Dermatology Clinic in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern Nigeria

Aims: To determine the prevalence and types of ISDs seen among children attending the Dermatology clinic in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Study Design: A retrospective study design was used.

Place and Duration of Study: The Dermatology clinic in UPTH over a three (3) year period (January 2016 –December 2018).

Methodology: Relevant data were extracted from the medical files of all the children who attended the dermatology clinic within the period under review using a data collection proforma. These included age, gender, history of skin diseases and type of skin disease diagnosed. Diagnosis of skin diseases in the clinic were made by trained dermatologists. The diagnosis were mainly clinical but laboratory confirmation was done where necessary.

Results: A total of 486 children aged 1 month to 17 years were seen in the Dermatology clinic over the 3 year period. ISDs were diagnosed in 212 (43.6%) of these children. The mean age of children with ISDs was 7.49±5.8 years with a male to female ratio of 1.2:1. Fungal skin infections were seen in 95 (44.8%) patients. Parasitic skin infections were diagnosed in 62 (29.2%) patients. Viral and Bacterial skin infections were observed in 33 (15.6%) and 22 (10.4%) children respectively. With respect to specific diagnosis, the most frequent ISDs were: Scabies in 62 (29.2%), Tinea corporis in 24 (11.3%), Verruca Vulgaris in 24 (11.3%) and Impetigo in 9 (4.2%). Age and gender were not associated with occurrence of ISDs.

Conclusion: The prevalence of Infectious Skin Disorders is high among children attending the Dermatology clinic in UPTH with Scabies being the most common ISD. Greater efforts should be geared towards the prevention, early diagnosis and prompt treatment of these ISDs to limit the morbidity associated with them.