Study of clinical spectrum of geriatric dermatoses in patients attending a multi-specialty hospital

Abstract

Background: The spectrum of skin disease is unique in geriatric population and also varied according to geographical areas. It is emerging major health problem in person above 60 years of age, since the overall life expectancy is increasing. There is not much data on skin disease in geriatric population of Nepal. The study aimed to identify the prevalence and clini­cal characteristics of geriatric dermatoses in a multi-specialty hospital set up.

Methods: All patient attending dermatology OPD above 60 years of age and fitting the inclusion criteria were taken in to the study. A detailed history, physical exam and relevant laboratory in­vestigation was done to make a diagnosis. The data collected was entered in Excel and descriptive analysis was done by SPSS version 22.

Results: The number of elderly patients was 235 out of 3292 (7.13%). Altogether 246 diagnosis was made in 235 patients which had male preponderance of 53.19%. The pre-dominant diagno­sis was skin infection and infestation (38.61%), followed by eczema or dermatitis (18.69%) and papulo-squamous disease (11.78%). Other common conditions seen were urticaria (4.87%), pho­todermatoses (4.87%), senile xerosis (4.87%) and miliaria (3.65%).

Conclusions: Cutaneous infections and infestations were the commonest dermatoses followed by eczema/dermatitis. Fungal infection, allergic contact dermatitis, psoriasis were among common dermatoses. No cases of skin malignancy were found. Elderly population in Nepal is increasing and epidemiological data provide government and health care provider to address their problem in effective way.