Evaluation of Patients Visiting the Dermatology Emergency Unit of a University Dermatology Hospital in Tehran, Iran

• Published in: Acta medica Iranica 2017-11, Vol.55 (11), p.705-711
• Main Authors: Abedini, Robabeh, Matinfar, Amin, Sasani, Pardis, Salehi, Anahita, Daneshpazhooh, Maryam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Child; Child, Preschool; Dermatology; Dermatology - statistics & numerical data; Emergencies; Emergency Service, Hospital; Female; Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data; Hospitals, University; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Iran; Male; Medical students; Middle Aged; Psoriasis; Referral and Consultation; Skin Diseases - diagnosis; Universities; Urticaria; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0044-6025; 1735-9694

Published studies on dermatological emergencies are limited in the literature. To our knowledge, no study has previously explored this subject in Iran. Our aim was to ascertain the characteristics of patients visiting the dermatologic emergency (DE) unit of a university skin hospital in Tehran, Iran. We studied the files of all the patients seen in the DE unit over a 3-month period, collecting data on age, sex, referral mode, duration of consultation, status (true emergency or non-emergency), and diagnosis. A total of 2539 patients were evaluated; 53% of them were female. Infection and infestation (41.9%), urticaria (16.7%), and dermatitis (13.2%) were the most prevalent entities. Almost 1% of the patients were referred by another physician and psoriasis was their most frequent diagnosis. Almost 2.6% of the patients were hospitalized; psoriasis was once again the most frequent cause. The hospitalization rate was significantly higher in referred patients (P