Dermatology inpatient consultation in a Portuguese university hospital.

BACKGROUND Cutaneous findings are frequent in hospitalized patients. There are few reports regarding this subject. OBJECTIVES To identify the frequency and the impact on clinical courses of dermatologic conditions in patients in the inpatient setting and compare the data with other similar studies. METHODS Retrospective review of 274 hospitalized patients in non-dermatology inpatient departments who were observed by a dermatology consultant in a Portuguese central university hospital during a year. RESULTS A total of 282 consultations were performed. The services requesting consultation most frequently were internal medicine (33.7%), surgery (10.3%), and pediatrics (8.9%). Skin infections (33.2%), eczemas (9.5%), and drug eruptions (7.3%) were the most common diagnoses. Admission diagnosis was modified in 9 cases (3.3%) by the dermatology consultant. CONCLUSION Dermatoses are frequently misdiagnosed by non-dermatologists. Common skin diseases were responsible for most of dermatology inpatient consultations. However, in some cases the dermatology consultation changed the primary main diagnosis and had an important impact on the clinical course.