Pediatric Psoriasis: A Closer View on Clinical Presentations

Abstract

Introduction: Psoriasis in children is not uncommon. The study is an attempt to shed light on its clinical presentations among children in Basrah, Iraq. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational clinical study of 416 children with psoriasis was conducted in the department of Dermatology of Basrah teaching hospital and two private clinics, Basrah, Iraq, from November 2018 to December 2021. Detailed history and a complete clinical examination were done. In cases of doubt, skin biopsy was performed. Results: Four hundred and sixteen children with psoriasis were enrolled in this study, their age ranged from 11 months to 12 years, 236 of them were females, and the remaining 180 were males. Psoriasis of the scalp, eyelid, blepharitis, follicular, and guttate were the most common types reported in 61.8%, 11.05%, 10.3%, and 9.8%, respectively. Plaque psoriasis was reported in only 6.2% of the patients. Atypical presentations in shape and site were reported in 122 (29.3%) of the patients. Infections, emotional stress, and environmental factors were the most common precipitating causes. Conclusions: Psoriasis is not uncommon among children; the presentations may be atypical regarding clinical features, site affected, symptoms, family history, and gender, so that it should be considered in any child with chronic recurrent erythematous scaly skin lesions, especially when they are recurrent with poor response to treatment.