Acutely ill patients in internal medicine departments want treatment for undiagnosed, symptomatic skin conditions.
Dermatology
; 225(2): 115-20, 2012.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23037513
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Concomitant skin conditions may be neglected in internal medicine patients due to lack of knowledge or resources. Thus, we investigated the prevalence of undiagnosed skin conditions in this population.METHODS:
200 patients in a university medical center's internal medicine division were examined clinically for dermatoses and quality of life in a prospective, 2-month, single-center study.RESULTS:
All patients had several dermatological problems (mean per patient 13; range 3-25). There was no relationship between the patient's main medical problem and the number or nature of dermatological conditions. Most patients (84%) requested treatment for their skin condition during hospitalization, especially for xerosis (76%), warts (69%), seborrheic eczema (67%) and onychorrhexis (53%) but not for asymptomatic dermatoses. The impairment in skin-related quality of life was mild but significant, with a mean ± SD Dermatology Life Quality Index of 3 ± 4 (p < 0.001), and global quality of life impairment was severe (p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:
Inpatients suffered from many different, mostly age-related, skin conditions that remained undiagnosed. When prompted, however, patients requested treatment, particularly for symptomatic dermatological conditions such as xerosis, revealing an unmet need that needs to be addressed by qualified evaluation and care.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Calidad de Vida
/
Enfermedades de la Piel
/
Cuidados de la Piel
/
Pacientes Internos
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Dermatology
Asunto de la revista:
DERMATOLOGIA
Año:
2012
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Suiza