A Comparison of Diagnosed Skin Diseases between the Years with and without COVID-19 Pandemic
<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic has a considerable influence on public health, either directly or indirectly. We investigated outpatient skin disease diagnoses at the dermatology clinic to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on these patients. <i>M...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-07-01
|
| Series: | Medicina |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/8/773 |
| _version_ | 1797523023627026432 |
|---|---|
| author | Wanjarus Roongpisuthipong Pornchai Yodla Theerawut Klangjareonchai |
| author_facet | Wanjarus Roongpisuthipong Pornchai Yodla Theerawut Klangjareonchai |
| author_sort | Wanjarus Roongpisuthipong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background and Objectives</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic has a considerable influence on public health, either directly or indirectly. We investigated outpatient skin disease diagnoses at the dermatology clinic to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on these patients. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: We conducted a retrospective study using the International Codes of Diseases data from the outpatient department of Dermatology clinic, Vajira hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, Thailand from January 2019 to June 2021. <i>Results</i>: A total of 20,915 patients with 34,116 skin diagnoses were included in the study. The average weekly dermatologic clinic visits remained unchanged between the years with and without COVID-19 pandemic. While the percentage of xerosis cutis, other skin infections (syphilis and parasitic infections), hair and nail disorders, pigmentary disorders, benign skin tumors and drug eruptions were significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic years, the percentage of other dermatitis, fungal and viral skin infections, acne, psoriasis, urticaria, vesiculobullous and autoimmune diseases were increased. <i>Conclusion</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic had a minimal effect on the average weekly skin clinic visits, but the diagnosed skin diseases pattern was affected. Knowing the pattern of skin diseases may help aid hospitals to better prepare for future pandemics in securing appropriate medications and supplies and training the medical teams. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:37:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e24e515c76d4452bb7fe818880183268 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:37:33Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj.art-e24e515c76d4452bb7fe8188801832682023-11-22T08:35:53ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442021-07-0157877310.3390/medicina57080773A Comparison of Diagnosed Skin Diseases between the Years with and without COVID-19 PandemicWanjarus Roongpisuthipong0Pornchai Yodla1Theerawut Klangjareonchai2Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok 10300, ThailandDepartment of Medical Records and Statistics, Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok 10300, ThailandDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic has a considerable influence on public health, either directly or indirectly. We investigated outpatient skin disease diagnoses at the dermatology clinic to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on these patients. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: We conducted a retrospective study using the International Codes of Diseases data from the outpatient department of Dermatology clinic, Vajira hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, Thailand from January 2019 to June 2021. <i>Results</i>: A total of 20,915 patients with 34,116 skin diagnoses were included in the study. The average weekly dermatologic clinic visits remained unchanged between the years with and without COVID-19 pandemic. While the percentage of xerosis cutis, other skin infections (syphilis and parasitic infections), hair and nail disorders, pigmentary disorders, benign skin tumors and drug eruptions were significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic years, the percentage of other dermatitis, fungal and viral skin infections, acne, psoriasis, urticaria, vesiculobullous and autoimmune diseases were increased. <i>Conclusion</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic had a minimal effect on the average weekly skin clinic visits, but the diagnosed skin diseases pattern was affected. Knowing the pattern of skin diseases may help aid hospitals to better prepare for future pandemics in securing appropriate medications and supplies and training the medical teams.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/8/773coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemicskin diseasesoutpatient dermatology clinicdermatitiscutaneous infectionurbanology |
| spellingShingle | Wanjarus Roongpisuthipong Pornchai Yodla Theerawut Klangjareonchai A Comparison of Diagnosed Skin Diseases between the Years with and without COVID-19 Pandemic Medicina coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic skin diseases outpatient dermatology clinic dermatitis cutaneous infection urbanology |
| title | A Comparison of Diagnosed Skin Diseases between the Years with and without COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | A Comparison of Diagnosed Skin Diseases between the Years with and without COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | A Comparison of Diagnosed Skin Diseases between the Years with and without COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Comparison of Diagnosed Skin Diseases between the Years with and without COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | A Comparison of Diagnosed Skin Diseases between the Years with and without COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | comparison of diagnosed skin diseases between the years with and without covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic skin diseases outpatient dermatology clinic dermatitis cutaneous infection urbanology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/8/773 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wanjarusroongpisuthipong acomparisonofdiagnosedskindiseasesbetweentheyearswithandwithoutcovid19pandemic AT pornchaiyodla acomparisonofdiagnosedskindiseasesbetweentheyearswithandwithoutcovid19pandemic AT theerawutklangjareonchai acomparisonofdiagnosedskindiseasesbetweentheyearswithandwithoutcovid19pandemic AT wanjarusroongpisuthipong comparisonofdiagnosedskindiseasesbetweentheyearswithandwithoutcovid19pandemic AT pornchaiyodla comparisonofdiagnosedskindiseasesbetweentheyearswithandwithoutcovid19pandemic AT theerawutklangjareonchai comparisonofdiagnosedskindiseasesbetweentheyearswithandwithoutcovid19pandemic |