Pediatric Dermatology Inpatient Consultations: A Retrospective Study of 581 Cases

Lee, You Jin; Park, Ji Hye; Lee, Jong Hee; Lee, Dong Youn

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Pediatric dermatoses show different clinical presentations and responses to treatment than that in adults. However, data on inpatient pediatric dermatology are limited in the current medical literature.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to analyze patterns of dermatologic consultations in pediatric inpatients.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the records of inpatient pediatric (age <18 yrs) consultation requests received by the dermatology department from January 2012 to December 2014. The age, sex, diagnosis, requesting department, and reason for consultation were recorded.
RESULTS
Among 27,323 inpatients, 581 (2.1%) had undergone consultation. Of these, 318 (54.7%) were boys and 263 (45.4%) were girls (M: F=1.2:1). Patients ranged in age from newborn to 17 years, and 22.4% were under 1 year. Most of the consultation requests (57.7%) were made by pediatrics, followed by neurosurgery (7.7%) and general surgery departments (7.7%). The most common diagnostic categories included eczema (26.3%), skin appendigeal diseases (18.7%), infectious disease (17.7%), neoplasms (12.8%), and drug eruptions, erythema, and urticaria (7.1%). The most common reasons for consultation were dermatologic diseases or conditions (82.5%), skin lesions of a systemic disease (9.5%), and diseases related to treatment (6.5%).
CONCLUSION
Information obtained from this study can not only improve the quality of patient care but also inform clinicians about the array of pediatric dermatology conditions in the hospital setting.