Patterns of lower leg and foot eczema in South India.

BACKGROUND The pattern of eczema is altered by geography, habits of people and environmental factors and regional variation in skin structure and function. AIMS Our study was done to estimate frequency and patterns of lower leg and foot eczemas. METHODS A total of 200 patients with various types of lower leg and foot eczemas were recruited over a period of 2 years. Demographic and clinical characteristics were noted. Suspected cases of allergic contact dermatitis were patch tested. RESULTS The frequency of these eczemas was 2.5 per 1000 out patients. Mean age of patients was 40.49 years. Female to male ratio was 1.6:1. Sixty (30%) patients were farmers, sixty (30%) were housewives, forty (20%) were students, nineteen (9.5%) were daily laborers, nine had sedentary jobs and three were teachers. Most eczemas were bilateral (72%). Mean duration of eczema was 36.6 months. Most common type of eczema was lichen simplex chronicus (36%) followed by discoid eczema (18.5%), allergic contact dermatitis (14.5%) and stasis eczema (7.5%). Other eczemas noted were juvenile plantar dermatosis, cumulative irritant contact dermatitis, infected eczema, hyperkeratotic eczema, asteatotic eczema, pompholyx, infective eczema and unclassified endogenous eczema. Common sites of involvement were dorsa of feet (49.5%), followed by lateral aspect of lower leg (31%), medial aspect of lower leg (17.5%) and ankle (12%). CONCLUSION Our study highlights lichen simplex chronicus as the most common eczema affecting the lower legs and feet.