Dermatological consultations at a pediatric emergency center

Introduction. Dermatological consultations account for between 4.1% and 19.9% of all consultations at the pediatric emergency center (PEC). The most frequently observed diagnoses are skin and soft tissue infections, dermatitis, viral infections, and adverse drug reactions. No local publications on the subject were found; therefore, the objectives of this study were to estimate the frequency of dermatological consultations at the PEC, describe the most common diagnoses, and evaluate the number of consultations by season. Population and methods. A retrospective, descriptive, observational study was conducted in the dermatology outpatient clinic of a university hospital. The sample consisted of all dermatology outpatient visits by patients under the age of 18 seen between September 2017 and September 2019. Results. A total of 129 592 visits were recorded, of which 10.6% (n = 13 790) were for dermatological conditions. These visits involved 9146 patients; 2890 (31.6%) had two or more visits. The mean age was 5.94 years, with a slight predominance of males (53%). The most common diagnoses were bacterial infections (19.2%) and viral infections (18.9%). A higher frequency of dermatological visits was observed during the warmer months (p = 0.026). Conclusion. Dermatology consultations accounted for 1 in 10 consultations at the PEC and were more prevalent during the warmer months. Bacterial and viral conditions were the most commonly observed.