Pattern of skin diseases at the University Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

The pattern of skin diseases observed in this analysis shows that allergic and infectious causes account for three-quarters of skin problems. Emphasis should be given to this group of common skin diseases at all levels of health care so that proper diagnosis, treatment, and referral can be practiced.

The Pattern of Skin Diseases in a Hospital in Qunfudah Region, Saudi Arabia.

“…Our results show that female patients attend dermatology clinics more than males; similar results have been found in Norway, Egypt, Ethiopia, and India. 5,[14][15][16] As shown in Figure 1, female patients were more prevalent in each age group, except for the 45 to 54 and over-65s, we think that this is because females care about their appearance more than males, but lose this concern as they become older. The higher number of females can clearly be seen in the 15-24 group; this may be explained by the fact that during this period, acne has the highest incidence rate, causing unwanted cosmetics problems.…”

Dermatopathology Practice in Ethiopia

“…Accorsi et al 5 found that scabies infections were the leading cause of inpatient admissions in a northern Ethiopian hospital, where they accounted for 19.3% of total hospital admissions due to a skin disorder. At the Black Lion Teaching Hospital in urban Addis Ababa, Shibeshi 6 found that cutaneous infections were the second leading cause of disease among patients presenting with skin complaints after allergic skin diseases.…”

Patients Seen at the Dermatology Ambulatory Office in a Tertiary Care Center in Qassim Region , Saudi Arabia

“…This observation correlates well with other studies that report allergic skin diseases as the most common cause to seek care from a health provider. (4)(5)(6)(7) Among the allergic skin diseases observed, dermatitis was predominant. The breakdown of dermatitis subtypes has revealed a high frequency of contact dermatitis (33.9%).…”

“…(8) This was followed by atopic dermatitis while dyshidrotic dermatitis was found third, in contrast with other studies that report a low frequency of dyshidrotic dermatitis. (5) Urticaria represents a disease with a wide spectrum of causes. The patients attending our hospital suffered from either acute urticaria or exacerbations of chronic urticaria.…”

“…Infectious and parasitic diseases are less common in relation to the findings of other studies in Africa where the socio-economic conditions are different. (5,6) Inflammatory and autoimmune disorders represent mostly diseases with a chronic and relapsing course. Acne cases were seen highest (1.9%) among the inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.…”