THE PATTERN OF SKIN DISEASES IN A HOSPITAL IN QUNFUDAH REGION, SAUDI ARABIA.

Background and objectives: No available previousstudy conducted to described the pattern of skin diseases in Qunfudah region. Thus, a study in this regard was needed. The aimwas to assess the pattern of skin diseases suffered by patients in this area. Methods: It was conducted in dermatology department at South Qunfudah General Hospital(SQGH), Qunfudah, Saudi Arabia.Data ofnew patients who seen in clinic between October 2015 and September 2016 were retrospectively review. Results:This study included 792 patients, all of them were referred from primary health care centers. Of whom 450 (56.8%) were females and 342 (43.2%) were males; the female-to-male ratio was [1.3:1] and the mean age was 30 years. Females were dominant in most of the age groups. The distribution of skin diseases was: eczema/dermatitis (48.2%), pilosebaceous disorders (14.9%), infections (11.2%), pigmentary disorders (7.7%), hair disorders (6.2%), papulosquamous disorders (4.2%), urticaria (3.0%), autoimmune diseases (1.3%), keratinization disorders (0.4%), and miscellaneous disorders (2.9%). Conclusion:Our study was carried out in just one hospital (SQGH), it only provides a rough estimation for the prevalence of skin diseases in this area.Three-quarters of the patients had eczema/dermatitis, pilosebaceous disorders, and infections. It is recommended that training courses be developed to instruct primary health physicians on how to deal with these three skin disorders; this could help reduce referrals to dermatology clinics, as well as allowing patients to be treated earlier.