Comparison of patients’ diagnoses in a dermatology outpatient clinic during the COVID‐19 pandemic period and pre‐pandemic period

Abstract

Aim In this study, we compared the current diagnoses of patients admitted to the dermatology outpatient clinic with the diagnoses during the non‐pandemic period, and we examined the effect of COVID‐19 on the patient profile. Methods Diagnoses were compared by examining the patient files of the 3‐month period when the pandemic was influential in our country and the 2‐week non‐pandemic period corresponding to the same season a year ago. The outpatient diagnoses in the first month and the last month of the 3‐month pandemic period were also compared. Results During the 3‐month pandemic process, the most common reasons for applying to the outpatient clinic were acne, urticaria, psoriasis, and allergic/irritant contact dermatitis. Urticaria, psoriasis, allergic/irritant contact dermatitis, scabies, liken planus, mycosis fungoides, zona zoster, recurrent aphthous stomatitis and polymorph light eruption were statistically more common in the pandemic period. Moreover, acne, other eczematous dermatities, verruca, androgenic alopecia, and melanocytic nevus diagnoses were found to decrease statistically during the pandemic period when compared with the non‐pandemic period. Conclusion Unlike other studies, the present study evaluated the patient diagnoses during the pandemic period and the period a year before and discussed the possible reasons for the changes in patient profiles.

Impact of Coronavirus in a Dermatology Outpatient Clinic: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

“…Therefore, the decrease in polymorphic light eruption may be attributable to the lack of type 4 allergic reaction pattern. In contrast to the presented study, Turkmen et al (13) reported high polymorph light eruption, and this was attributable to seasonal factors.…”

“…This result may be expected, with the increase in the time that families spend together at home. Similar results in other studies support this finding (8,9,13,18). In addition, a decrease in telogen effluvium cases was observed, which is the most common disease in dermatology outpatient clinics.…”

“…Moreover, Turan et al ( 7) observed an increase in generalized pruritus cases, ascribing similar reasons. No changes were observed for generalized pruritus in other studies (8,9,13,18).…”

Effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on head lice and scabies infestation dynamics: a population‐based study in France

“…11 Regarding scabies, a Spanish study reported the unexpected finding a crude increase in the number of cases during the national lockdown, 12 and other studies also reported an increase in the scabies 'frequency'. [13][14][15] However, these studies also reported an increase in the frequency of many other severe or disabling dermatological conditions, which can probably be explained by a dramatic decrease in the total number of dermatological consultations for benign conditions during the pandemic.…”

The impact of COVID‐19 pandemic in dermatology outpatient clinics in Turkey: A survey study

“…In a study conducted in Turkey, it was reported that scabies increased during the pandemic, the rates of which increased more at month three compared to month one following the first case of COVID‐19 16 . It is thought that domestic transmission due to staying at home policy also contributed to this result.…”