Epidemiological evaluation of paediatric psoriasis patients at the Dermatology Department

Abstract

Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic autoinflammatory disease, which mostly affects skin and joints. Patients with psoriasis are at risk of developing comorbidities such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases or mental disorders. It is reported that even one-third of the total psoriatic cases may have skin symptoms in childhood. Material and methods: The study aimed to perform a retrospective analysis of paediatric patients with psoriasis admitted to the dermatological department between 2018 and 2020. Patients’ data were analysed for age, gender, medical diagnosis (ICD-10) including subtypes of psoriasis, treatment, the clinical course of the disease and results of the diagnostic tests including cholesterol fractions and blood glucose level. Results: In the years 2018–2020 73 children were admitted to the dermatological department. The number of female patients 47 (64.38%) significantly dominated over the number of male patients 26 (35.62%). Almost 95% of them were diagnosed with psoriasis vulgaris. Only 3 cases (4.11%) of generalized pustular psoriasis and 1 case (1.37%) of psoriatic arthritis were reported. Almost 20% of children had a positive family history of psoriasis. Readmission to the ward was required in 35.62% of the cases. 23.4% of patients presented abnormality in lipid profile. 15% had various comorbidities. Conclusions: Better understanding of psoriasis and its management from an early age, may improve the quality of life of psoriasis patients and prevent them from developing serious comorbidities in the future.