Pattern of geriatric dermatoses at a tertiary care center in North-East India

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">The aging population is dramatically increasing with the increase in the average life. It is faced with different health problems which include skin as well. The aim was to study the clinical pattern of geriatric dermatoses and associated systemic diseases.</span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">A cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of 18 months to study the pattern of geriatric dermatoses on 250 geriatric patients aged above 60 years attending Dermatology OPD, RIMS, Imphal</span>.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">Out of 250 patients 136 were males and 114 were females. The mean age was 67.28 years and the male to female ratio was 1.19:1. Majority of the patients belonged to the 60-69 age group (66%). 63.2% had the dermatosis for more than 1 month before presentation. The most common dermatoses were: infections (26.4%), eczemas (22.4%), papulosquamous (10.4%), photodermatoses (8.0%) and infestations (6.8%). Herpes zoster (13.2%) and superficial fungal infections (7.6%) was the most common infections. Lichen simplex chronicus (6%). was the main form of eczema. Psoriasis (6%) and lichen planus (4.4%) were the common papulosquamous disorders. Chronic actinic dermatitis (6%) represented as the main pattern of photodermatoses. Uncommon disorders were tumors (4%), immunobullous (2.6%), drug reaction (2.4%), vitiligo (2%) and alopecia areata (0.8%).</span><span lang="EN-IN"> Main co-morbid systemic diseases were hypertension (16.4%) and diabetes mellitus (6.8%). </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">Different disease entities in the elderly demands different approach to management. Contributing factors like neglect, delay in seeking treatment, co-morbidities have to be properly addressed. Health education on proper skin care, avoidance of irritants and self-medication etc would help reduce the incidence of common dermatoses.</span></p>

Study of Clinical Spectrum of Geriatric Dermatoses in Patients Attending a Multi-Specialty Hospital

“…7,8 Majority of the patients (134 cases, 57%) were in 60-69 years of age group. This finding was consistent with the study done by Kshetrimayum et al 9 Increasing age results in decreased immunity against infectious agents, which may result in increased susceptibility to infections including skin infections. Infections and infestations were the commonest group of disease in elderly and was seen in 38.61% cases (95 cases).…”

“…Fungal infection was the commonest among infections and was seen in 46 (18.69%) followed by viral infection (22 cases, 8.94%), infestations (15 cases, 6.09%) and bacterial infection (12 cases, 4.87%). The incidence of fungal infection was almost similar to study by Padma et al 14 (23%) but higher than other studies, [8][9] which may be due to the fact that study population are exposed to relatively high heat and humid temperature conducive to fungal growth.…”

“…This finding was comparable to the study done by Durai et al 10 and Sayal et al, 11 however it was bit higher than reported in few other studies. 9,[12][13] This finding was also different than a study reported from Nepal, 6 in which eczema (35.8%) was most common skin disease. The difference may be attributed to regional climatic and environmental differences.…”

“…Herpes zoster (13 cases, 5.28%) and Post herpetic neuralgia (5 cases, 2%) which is a late se-qualae of Herpes zoster were the notable infection among viral infections. These were also the commonest viral infection reported by Kshetrimayum et al 9 Reactivation of herpes zoster virus is more likely to occur due to decreased immunity and post herpetic neuralgia may be significant because of decreased physical and emotional coping capability in elderly. The finding of 3 cases of leprosy among 235 patients is an interesting feature, suggesting it might still be a significant problem, even as Nepal has met the elimination criteria in 2010 set by WHO.…”

A clinical study of pattern of geriatric dermatosis in tertiary care hospital of Rajasthan

“…In exogenous eczema contact dermatitis was observed in 4.67%. Both the findings are comparible with kshetrimayum S et al 16 with 6% and 4.8% incidence respectively. Improper hygiene and decrease immunity are the precipitating factors for endogenous eczema.…”