title: Paediatric skin disorders encountered in an emergency hospital facility: a prospective study.
abstract: To determine the frequency of skin disorders encountered in a paediatric emergency care unit and to evaluate the benefits of advice from a dermatologist, we prospectively recorded data of children admitted with skin disorders to the emergency care unit during a 5-month period. Diagnostic agreement between paediatricians and dermatologists evaluating the patients separately was assessed. Three hundred and ninety-five children (median age 3 years; interquartile 1-6) were included. Skin disorders represented 4% of all paediatric emergency care unit visits. Visits were considered as appropriate in 19-30% of cases according to different criteria. Six diseases accounted for 57% of cases: viral exanthema, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, varicella, diaper dermatitis and herpetic gingivostomatitis. The dermatologist modified the diagnosis in 42% of cases and the treatment in 30%. Greater emphasis on teaching the skin disorders encountered in this setting and efforts to provide easy access to advice from dermatologist would improve the quality of care.
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Emergency Care Unit, University Children's Hospital and School of Medicine, Lille, France. s-auvin@chru-lille.fr
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Auvin
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imiela
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Catteau
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hue
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martinot
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003880:Dermatology; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D010372:Pediatrics; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*