Patterns of chronic dermatoses in an Ethiopian central teaching hospital: a histopathologic approach

This study was designed to describe the causes and distributional patterns of chronic infective-parasitic dermatoses.

A histology-based cross-sectional study was conducted for the years between January 1985 and December 1998 within the Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Department of Pathology, Addis Ababa University. The data were retrieved from the department's archives and all dermatologic cases fulfilling bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic etiologies were included in the study. Formalin fixed, and paraffin embedded tissues were stained with the routine hematoxylin and eosin staining procedure and visualized under light microscopy.

Out of 162 cases of chronic specific infective-parasitic dermatoses diagnosed, the mean ages for men and women were 31.5 (SD, 16.6) and 25.1 (SD, 14.3) years respectively and the peak age group was 20-29 years (30.2%). Moreover, the ratio of men to women was 1.1:1. The most commonly diagnosed dermatosis was wart (38.9%), followed by cutaneous tuberculosis (17.9%), and cutaneous leishmaniasis (14.2%). The most frequently involved region was the lower limb (46.3%), followed by the face (23.5%).

This study tried to surface the frequency distribution of the histopathologically-proven dermatoses that are prevalent in our part of the world. The lower limbs being the most frequent sites of dermatoses, their predisposing factors need to be addressed in our communities in order to lessen the effects of these dermatoses. This study may act as a baseline for similar investigations that may be undertaken in the future.