Pediatric dermatology inpatient consultations: A retrospective study of 581 cases

Background: Pediatric dermatoses show different clinical presentations and responses to treatment than that in adults. However, data on inpatient pediatric dermatology are limited in the current medical literature. Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze patterns of dermatologic consultations in pediatric inpatients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of inpatient pediatric (age < 18 yrs) consultation requests received by the dermatology department from January 2012 to December 2014. The age, sex, diagnosis, requesting department, and reason for consultation were recorded. Results: Among 27,323 inpatients, 581 (2.1%) had undergone consultation. Of these, 318 (54.7%) were boys and 263 (45.4%) were girls (M: F=1.2:1). Patients ranged in age from newborn to 17 years, and 22.4% were under 1 year. Most of the consultation requests (57.7%) were made by pediatrics, followed by neurosurgery (7.7%) and general surgery departments (7.7%). The most common diagnostic categories included eczema (26.3%), skin appendigeal diseases (18.7%), infectious disease (17.7%), neoplasms (12.8%), and drug eruptions, erythema, and urticaria (7.1%). The most common reasons for consultation were dermatologic diseases or conditions (82.5%), skin lesions of a systemic disease (9.5%), and diseases related to treatment (6.5%). Conclusion: Information obtained from this study can not only improve the quality of patient care but also inform clinicians about the array of pediatric dermatology conditions in the hospital setting.