Skin diseases among children attending the out patient clinic of the University of Nigeria teaching hospital, Enug.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of skin diseases varies worldwide and information regarding local prevalence of its various causes may help the development of policies towards better management. OBJECTIVE To document the types of skin disorders seen among children attending the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu( UNTH). METHODS The medical register from the children out patient clinic was used to obtain information on pattern and outcome of skin diseases seen from January 1996 to December 2005. RESULTS Of the 16,337 children seen in children.s out patient clinic (CHOP), 1506 (1.3%) had a skin disease. Age range was one week to 16 years with a mean ± SD of 3.89 ± 3.8 years. Children aged 0 - 5 years constituted 70.24% of patients with skin diseases. The commonest skin condition was pyoderma (29.81%) seen mainly in those below 5 years, followed by scabies (13.55%). Approximately 1/3 (33.3%) of the patients were referred to the dermatology clinic. CONCLUSION Infectious skin diseases constitute a high percentage of skin disorders encountered in paediatrics. Almost half (48.4%) of the skin problems were diagnosed as non-specific dermatitis suggesting the need of better dermatological training of the paediatric residents.