An Assessment of Frequency of Dermatologic Diseases in Patients Admitted to Shiraz Referral Dermatology Ward, Southern Iran 2008-2011

Abstract

Background: As the early and accurate diagnosis of all diseases, including skin disorders directly influences the duration of treatment and its costs, which may be a significant burden, it is very important for physicians to be familiar with all types of diseases, especially those with a higher incidence in population. Considering that disease patterns vary from region to region and there is no demographic data on patterns of skin diseases in Fars Province, we aimed to assess the frequency of skin diseases in admitted patients to Dermatology Ward of Shahid Faghihi Hospital.

Materials and Methods: The medical records of 1450 patients, who completed a questionnaire during the years 2008 to 2011, were evaluated in this retrospective study. Demographic data and diagnoses of skin diseases were analyzed by SPSS software and classified according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).

Results: Pemphigus (12.5%), drug rash (11.7%) and eczema (10.5%) were the most common cause of referral to dermatology ward. The mean age of patients was 41.89±20.79 and the average length of hospitalization in this study was 9.34 days.

Conclusion: The high occurrence rate of Pemphigus and drug rash indicates that further study is required to root out the underlying causes. Proper health policies should be implemented to manage these diseases.