Pattern of skin diseases among preschool and primary school-aged children in Dermatology Damietta Hospital

Background Although it is believed that the prevalence of dermatoses among children in developing countries is very high, there have been few epidemiologic reports on this issue, which hinders the planning of health programs. Objective This study was carried out to determine the pattern of skin diseases among preschool and primary school-aged children in the four seasons. Patients and methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out. A nonprobability purposive sample was taken from patients (age ranging from birth to 12 years) attending the outpatient clinic of the Damietta Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology over a year. The diagnoses were made on the basis of clinical dermatological examination, laboratory investigations, and biopsy specimen when needed. Results This study included 4000 children of both sexes out of 4658 children attending the outpatient clinic of the Damietta Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology. A total of 92 dermatoses were recorded. Papular urticaria was the most frequent dermatosis (16.62%), followed by impetigo (13.37%), chicken pox (9.15%), tinea capitis (7.47%), and furunculosis (6.2%). The distribution of skin diseases according to their percentage frequency (infectious and noninfectious), age, sex, season, residence, and socioeconomic status is presented. Conclusion The present study sheds light on the most frequent dermatoses encountered in Damietta Hospital, and provides the basis for better health services in this hospital. Infectious skin diseases represent a large proportion of the cases analyzed. Community-based studies need to be carried out to confirm and explore our findings to determine the magnitude and pattern of different types of dermatoses in Damietta affecting that age group, which could be a basis for future health plans.