Profile of dermatology inpatients and admissions over a four year period in a tertiary level government teaching hospital in North India

Background: Although dermatology is mostly an outpatient specialty, some patients with severe skin disease need hospital admission for management. There is a paucity of data regarding the profile of these dermatology in-patient admissions. Aims: We studied the profile of patients admitted to the dermatology ward of our tertiary care government hospital in North India. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of discharge sheets of patients admitted in the dermatology ward from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017. Results: Discharge sheets of 2032 admissions for 1664 patients were analyzed. The most common diagnoses in the admitted patients were immunobullous disorders (576, 28%), connective tissue diseases (409, 20%), infections, including leprosy and sexually transmitted infections (179, 8.8%), psoriasis (153, 7.5%) and reactive arthritis (92, 4.5%). The mean duration of admission was 13.95±11.67 days (range 1-118 days). Two hundred and fifty-six patients (15.38%) were re-admitted, accounting for 368 (18.11%) re-admissions. Patients with immunobullous disorders (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.29-2.28) and psoriasis (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.02-2.55) were more likely to be re-admitted. Adult patients, those who were admitted for more than four weeks, those who had comorbidities, and those who developed a complication during the hospital stay also had a greater likelihood of being re-admitted. Limitations: The retrospective design of the study, and the non-availability of data regarding transfers to other specialties or intensive care units and deaths were the main limitations of this study. Conclusion: This study describes the profile of patients admitted in a dermatology ward of a tertiary care centre center in North India. The patient profile and admission characteristics associated with a higher probability of re-admission were identified.