Analysis of Dermatologic Diseases in Neurosurgical In-Patients: A Retrospective Study of 463 Cases

BACKGROUND Both the skin and the neurologic system are derived from the ectoderm during embryogenesis, and thus patients with neurologic disorders may have accompanying dermatologic diseases. For example, seborrheic dermatitis is more frequently observed in patients with Parkinsonism and other neurologic disorders. To date, however, there has been limited review on dermatologic diseases in neurosurgical in-patients. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to characterize dermatological problems encountered in a neurosurgery unit and to compare these data to previous reports of in-patient dermatologic consultations. METHODS A retrospective review was conducted over all in-patient dermatology consultations from the neurosurgery unit during a 3-year period. RESULTS Of 2,770 dermatology consultations, 463 (16.7%) came from the department of neurosurgery. The most frequent age group was the 6th decade of life, and the ratio of men to women was 1.07. Consults were most frequently placed from patients with intracranial hemorrhage (23.8%). Eczema/dermatitis (36.5%; n=204) and cutaneous infections (27.0%; n=151) accounted for more than half of all dermatological consultations, followed by cutaneous adverse drug reactions (11.8%; n=66). Additionally, seborrheic dermatitis was significantly more frequent (p=0.048, odds ratio=1.96) in patients with intracranial hemorrhage. CONCLUSION This study characterizes the distribution of skin disorders in patients admitted to the neurosurgery service based on the consultations that have been made for dermatologic evaluation. Collaboration between the neurosurgeons and dermatologists may improve the quality of patient care and help to better predict the occurrence of these conditions.