Skin disorders encountered in a Swiss paediatric emergency department

Brigitte Landolt; Georg Staubli; Ulrich Lips; Lisa Weibel

doi:10.4414/smw.2013.13731

Original article

Vol. 143 No. 0102 (2013)

Skin disorders encountered in a Swiss paediatric emergency department

Brigitte Landolt
Georg Staubli
Ulrich Lips
Lisa Weibel

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2013.13731
Cite this as:: Swiss Med Wkly. 2013;143:w13731
Published: 30.12.2012

Summary

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY: While skin disorders are commonly seen in paediatric emergency departments (PED), the exact frequency of the various dermatological conditions is unknown. Our aim was to evaluate the occurrence and spectrum of skin disorders in an urban PED and the need for a dermatological opinion.

METHODS: The medical records of patients attending the PED during 120 days over a 1-year period were analysed. The dermatological findings were evaluated as to incidence, demographic details, frequency of dermatological review and treatment. A questionnaire assessed the need for dermatological support.

RESULTS: Skin findings were recorded in 1,572 (17.4%) of the 9,041 attendances. The skin problem was the primary cause of the PED visit or related to the primary complaint in 853 (54.3%) and 335 (21.3%) cases respectively. In 373 patients (23.8%) a diagnosis was only suspected or remained unknown. Inflammatory and allergic disorders were most commonly encountered (42.9%), followed by skin infections (31.8%), physically induced skin lesions (11.9%), varia/unknown (11.1%) and congenital disorders (2.3%). Viral and parainfectious exanthema was the most common diagnosis (17.6%), followed by anogenital dermatitis (7.7%), gingivostomatitis (7.1%), petechiae (6.4%), burns (6.0%), urticaria (5.0%) and insect bite reactions (5.0%). 81 (5.2%) of the patients with skin conditions were hospitalised. The PED doctors expressed the wish for a dermatological opinion in 25% of the patients with skin findings.

CONCLUSIONS: We identified a high frequency, broad spectrum and diagnostic difficulties of paediatric skin conditions. Our data highlight the need for educational measures and close collaboration between the two specialities to improve management of these children.

References

Fung W, Lo K. Prevalence of skin disease among school children and adolescents in a Student Health Service Center in Hong Kong. Pediatr Dermatol. 2000;17:440–6.
Hayden G. Skin diseases encountered in a pediatric clinic. A one-year prospective study. Am J Dis Child. 1985;139:36–8.
Largo R, Diethelm M, Kessler R, Suter FE. Prospective study of the work of the practising pediatrician. Helv Paediatr Acta Suppl. 1986;51:1–73.
Tunnessen WJ. A survey of skin disorders seen in pediatric general and dermatology clinics. Pediatr Dermatol. 1984;1:219–22.
Auvin S, Imiela A, Catteau B, Hue V, Martinot A. Paediatric skin disorders encountered in an emergency hospital facility: a prospective study. Acta Derm Venereol. 2004;84:451–4.
Dolan O, Bingham E, Glasgow J, Burrows D, Corbett JR. An audit of dermatology in a paediatric accident and emergency department. J Accid Emerg Med. 1994;11:158–61.
Kramkimel N, Soussan V, Beauchet A, Duhamel A, Saiag P, Mahé E. High frequency, diversity and severity of skin diseases in a paediatric emergency department. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2010;24:1468–75.
Krauss B, Harakal T, Fleisher G. The spectrum and frequency of illness presenting to a pediatric emergency department. Pediatr Emerg Care. 1991;7:67–71.
Nelson D, Walsh K, Fleisher G. Spectrum and frequency of pediatric illness presenting to a general community hospital emergency department. Pediatrics. 1992;90:5–10.
Shivaram V, Christoph R, Hayden G. Skin disorders encountered in a pediatric emergency department. Pediatr Emerg Care. 1993;9:202–4.
Soriano-Hernández Y, Orozco-Covarrubias L, Tamayo-Sánchez L, Duràn-McKinster C, Sosa-de-Martinez C, Ruiz-Maldonado R. Exanthems in hospitalized pediatric patients: concordance between pediatric and dermatological diagnoses. Dermatology. 2002;204:273–6.
Nanda A, Al-Hasawi F, Alsaleh Q. A prospective survey of pediatric dermatology clinic patients in Kuwait: an analysis of 10,000 cases. Pediatr Dermatol. 1999;16:6–11.
Schachner L, Ling N, Press S. A statistical analysis of a pediatric dermatology clinic. Pediatr Dermatol 1983;1:157–64.
Wenk C, Itin P. Epidemiology of pediatric dermatology and allergology in the region of Aargau, Switzerland. Pediatr Dermatol. 2003;20:482–7.

How to Cite

1.

Landolt B, Staubli G, Lips U, Weibel L. Skin disorders encountered in a Swiss paediatric emergency department. Swiss Med Wkly [Internet]. 2012 Dec. 30 [cited 2024 Apr. 16];143(0102):w13731. Available from: https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/1798

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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[1] Fung W, Lo K. Prevalence of skin disease among school children and adolescents in a Student Health Service Center in Hong Kong. Pediatr Dermatol. 2000;17:440–6.

[2] Hayden G. Skin diseases encountered in a pediatric clinic. A one-year prospective study. Am J Dis Child. 1985;139:36–8.

[3] Largo R, Diethelm M, Kessler R, Suter FE. Prospective study of the work of the practising pediatrician. Helv Paediatr Acta Suppl. 1986;51:1–73.

[4] Tunnessen WJ. A survey of skin disorders seen in pediatric general and dermatology clinics. Pediatr Dermatol. 1984;1:219–22.

[5] Auvin S, Imiela A, Catteau B, Hue V, Martinot A. Paediatric skin disorders encountered in an emergency hospital facility: a prospective study. Acta Derm Venereol. 2004;84:451–4.

[6] Dolan O, Bingham E, Glasgow J, Burrows D, Corbett JR. An audit of dermatology in a paediatric accident and emergency department. J Accid Emerg Med. 1994;11:158–61.

[7] Kramkimel N, Soussan V, Beauchet A, Duhamel A, Saiag P, Mahé E. High frequency, diversity and severity of skin diseases in a paediatric emergency department. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2010;24:1468–75.

[8] Krauss B, Harakal T, Fleisher G. The spectrum and frequency of illness presenting to a pediatric emergency department. Pediatr Emerg Care. 1991;7:67–71.

[9] Nelson D, Walsh K, Fleisher G. Spectrum and frequency of pediatric illness presenting to a general community hospital emergency department. Pediatrics. 1992;90:5–10.

[10] Shivaram V, Christoph R, Hayden G. Skin disorders encountered in a pediatric emergency department. Pediatr Emerg Care. 1993;9:202–4.

[11] Soriano-Hernández Y, Orozco-Covarrubias L, Tamayo-Sánchez L, Duràn-McKinster C, Sosa-de-Martinez C, Ruiz-Maldonado R. Exanthems in hospitalized pediatric patients: concordance between pediatric and dermatological diagnoses. Dermatology. 2002;204:273–6.

[12] Nanda A, Al-Hasawi F, Alsaleh Q. A prospective survey of pediatric dermatology clinic patients in Kuwait: an analysis of 10,000 cases. Pediatr Dermatol. 1999;16:6–11.

[13] Schachner L, Ling N, Press S. A statistical analysis of a pediatric dermatology clinic. Pediatr Dermatol 1983;1:157–64.

[14] Wenk C, Itin P. Epidemiology of pediatric dermatology and allergology in the region of Aargau, Switzerland. Pediatr Dermatol. 2003;20:482–7.