Prevalence and Types of Skin Diseases Seen among Children Attending the Children’s Outpatient Clinic in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern Nigeria- A Descriptive Study

Aims: To determine the prevalence and types of skin diseases seen among children attending the Children’s Outpatient Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).

Study Design: A descriptive Cross sectional study design was used.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the Children’s Outpatient Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital from June to August 2020 (3 months).

Method: It involved 370 children aged less than 18 years. A semi structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain all relevant data. This was followed by dermatological examination of the children to make diagnosis of skin diseases. Laboratory confirmation was carried out where necessary.

Results: The study participants consisted of 370 children aged 1 month to 17 years with a mean age of 8.4±5.9 years. The male to female ratio was 0.9:1 and the overall prevalence of skin diseases among the children studied was 23.7%. The three most common aetiologic categories of skin diseases seen were: Infective (13.5%), Inflammatory (5.7%) and infestations (3.5%). The five most common skin diseases identified included: Impetigo (4.1%), Scabies (3.5%), Atopic dermatitis (3.0%), Tinea capitis (2.7%) and Pityriasis versicolor (2.4%).

Conclusion: Skin diseases are common among children attending the children’s outpatient clinic in our hospital with Infective skin diseases predominating. Greater efforts need to be put into the treatment, prevention and control of these skin diseases in order to limit morbidity and mortality.