Overview of the Dermatology department at HUEH during the month of June 2021

Introduction

Few epidemiological data on skin disease are available in Haiti. Moreover, it is a specialty poorly known by our population. The aim is to draw up the epidemiological overview of the HUEH Dermatology department.

Methodology

This is a simple descriptive analysis of patients saw in the first consultation at the HUEH dermatology department during our visit. Data were collected from the register of the outpatient clinic. 367 patients from June 1 to June 30, 2021, were collected. The variables studied were gender, age, diagnosis, and outcome. We have used for this work Microsoft Excel, SPSS, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Powerpoint softwares.

Results

Mean age of our patients was 23.19 ±17.07 years, with extremes of 1 month and 88 years. The most represented age range was [19-65] years, representing 55.9% of our population. There was a predominance of females (61.9%) over males (38.1%) with a sex ratio of 0.61.

The 5 main diagnoses were Sarcoptosis 97 cases (26.4%), Eczema, grouping 5 types, 35 cases (9.5%), Acne 30 cases (8.2%), Dermatophytosis 21 cases (5,7%), Ringworm 18 cases (4.9%).

Among sarcoptosis patients, 39.2% were in the [19-65] age group and 53.6% were women. For those with Eczema, the age group [19-65] was still the most represented with 57.1%, and 60% were women. There were no patients older than 65 years with eczema. Regarding patients with Acne, 80% were in the [19-65] age group with 83.3% women. As for patients with dermatophytosis, 71.4% were in the [19-65] age group and 81% was women. The last most frequent skin disease was ringworm with 61.1% of patients aged [5-18] years and 77.8% of these were males. 99.45% of patients were seen as outpatients.

Conclusion

Parasitic and mycotic skin diseases are the main diagnosed diseases at the HUEH Dermatology Department during our period. Women from 19 to 65 years (pillar of the national economy) are the most affected by sarcoptosis (53.6%), eczema (60%), acne (83%), and dermatophytes (81%). Note that male children represent 77.8% of ringworm cases. We couldn’t talk about women’s health without a dermatological perspective. Hence the need to integrate dermatological pathologies into prevention and health promotion policies. More extensive observations are needed for a better profile of the epidemiology of skin diseases in Haiti.