Skin diseases among preschool children

Abstract

In developing countries skin diseases can affect more than 60% of the general population and usually are not well managed. Skin diseases are common in children. Epidemiologic studies of the general population, however, are still limited and missing for the region of Kosova. The aim of this study was to investigate disease prevalence in children under 6 years old of out- and in-patients at the department of Dermatological clinic - a tertiary health care center, a cross-sectional study was carried out during a period of one year. A total of 1,998 children 0 - 6 years old were examined. In the out-patients scabies presented in 18% of overall dermatoses, atopic dermatitis 7.9%, urticaria 7.9%, pyodermia 7.8%tinea superificialis 5.9%, staphylodermia 5.5%, dermatitis amoniacalis 4.7%, eczema infantum 4%, impetigo contagiosa 3.5% and exanthema toxo-allergica 2.7%. While in the in-patients, acute urticaria presented in 26.1% of the overall dermatoses, scabies 20.7% and atopic dermatitis 10.8%, epidemiologic data are necessary for the monitoring of skin changes in school children and provides the basis of training programs for medical professionals in primary health care with the aim to reduce long-term morbidity and socioeconomic impact. Key words: Skin disease, prevalence, children.