Emergency room in a University Clinic of Dermatology and Venereology: Retrospective study of 2‐year experience

Abstract

Dear Editor, Dermatological conditions are often considered benign, with minimal potential for complications. Dermatological complaints account for approximately 3% of all general emergency room (ER) presentations. 1 Some countries have implemented practices such as on-call dermatologists, but, generally, dermatological ERs are infrequent in Europe. [2][3][4][5] Few studies have analysed the work of these ERs. [6][7][8] The present study analyses patients presenting to the dermatology ER during off-duty hours at the Clinic of Dermatology and Venereology, a University hospital in Belgrade, Serbia. In Serbia, during off-duty hours, patients with an emergency condition can present to the ER solely with an ID card, without previous examination by other physicians and even without health insurance.A 2-year period, from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2022, is covered. A total of 2453 patients were examined in our ER during the study period: 38.6% in 2021 and 61.4% in 2022. A gradual increase in the number of examined patients was associated with the diminishing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health services. The mean age of patients was 42 ± 24 years, ranging from newborns to 94 years; most patients were adults (≥18-65 years)-60.5%, then elderly (≥65 years)-21.5% and paediatric patients (<18 years)-18%. Females presented slightly more often than males (55.4% vs. 44.6%). Our findings show many similarities with other published studies. 4,5 Although we have a paediatric ER in the vicinity of our clinic, a high percentage of children and adolescent patients was noted, unlike in the Portuguese study (18% vs. 2.9%). 3 This might signify a certain insecurity among paediatricians making dermatological diagnoses, also observed in the Romanian study. 8 A total of 326 different diagnoses were identified, with the most common disease groups being dermatitis/eczema (19.4%), followed by viral infections (15.8%), bacterial infections (14.8%), urticaria and angioedema (13.1%) and drug-induced