Prevalence of skin diseases in Jordanian children

Objective To study the prevalence of common skin conditions in Jordanian children who presented to the Dermatology and Pediatrics clinics at King Hussein Medical Centre (KHMC, Amman, Jordan) and Prince Ali bin Alhussein Hospital (Alkarak, Jordan). Methods This prospective study included all children aged 1 day to 14 years who presented with skin diseases. A good history and thorough physical examination were done with every patient. In some cases, we did scraping, woods light examination, swab culture, baseline blood tests, skin biopsy and other investigations, as needed. Results A total of 1836 patients, with age range of 1 day to 14 years (mean age of 7.5 years) were included in the study. Male to female ratio was 1:1.2. The total number of dermatoses found was 2779, as 769 patients presented with more than one dermatosis. Infectious dermatoses were encountered in 46.85% of the cases, and noninfectious dermatoses in 53.15%. Pityriasis alba was the most commonly found condition (27.1%) followed by viral warts (22.4%). Conclusion Noninfectious dermatoses, mainly pitryriasis alba, were the most common skin presentation, followed by infectious dermatoses, mainly viral warts. Parents and patient education about skin care, good hygiene and preventive measures can decrease the prevalence of skin diseases in children.