[Dermatological emergencies: a cross-sectional study of a hospital of intermediate complexity]

To determine if the introduction of some referral criteria in the dermatology emergency department has changed the number of patients referred from the emergency department, as well as the type of diseases, and the profile of the patient who uses this service.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on all consecutive patients attended in the emergency department of the Hospital Príncipe de Asturias during a 31-day period from March 2015 to May 2015 and in the same period in 2016. Variables collected were: gender, age, days from the onset, day of the week, complementary diagnostic tests, referral, reason for consultation, diagnosis and group, whether or not they met the criteria, destination, and whether or not they had a previous appointment.

A total of 525 patients were seen in dermatology emergency department in 2015, and 371 in 2016 (P<.001). Of the 896 patients seen 55.7% were women and 44.3% men (14.45 patients per day). A total of 121 diagnoses were made, with the most common being: other dermatitis, drug reactions, and atopic dermatitis. Only 32 pathologies made up 70% of the diagnoses. More than half (51.6%) did not meet the referral criteria.

The introduction of referral criteria has led to a reduction of 30% in the number of patients in 2016. The main diagnoses in both groups were other dermatitis and drug reactions. The profile of the patient is in accordance with the description in the literature.