1Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Gandaki Medical College, Pokhara, Nepal
2Department of Ophthalmology, Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal
3Department of Community Medicine, Gandaki Medical College, Pokhara, Nepal
American Journal of Public Health Research.
2015,
Vol. 3 No. 5A, 64-66
DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-3-5A-14
Copyright © 2015 Science and Education PublishingCite this paper: Binamra Basnet, Saraswoti Neupane, Shristi Shrestha, Sujan Gautam. Burden of Skin Diseases in Western Nepal: A Hospital Based Study.
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2015; 3(5A):64-66. doi: 10.12691/ajphr-3-5A-14.
Correspondence to: Binamra Basnet, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Gandaki Medical College, Pokhara, Nepal. Email:
binamrabasnet@gmail.comAbstract
There is a substantial lack of data regarding the actual burden of skin diseases in Nepal. Skin diseases often account for a significant number of hospital visits specially in the rural areas of Nepal. 20-30% of the general population is affected by skin disorders at any given time. A hospital based retrospective study reviewed the medical data over a period of one year (June 2014 to May 2015). A total number of 6009 patients presented to the Department of Dermatology which accounted for 6% of the total hospital patients. There was almost equal number of males (51%) & females (49%). Cutaneous infections and dermatitis alone was responsible for more than 50% of the cases (cutaneous infection-34% & dermatitis-20%) whereas pigmentary disorders, including melasma contributed to only 6% of the cases. The occurrence of skin disease did not have significant correlation with socioeconomic class & personal hygiene (p-value>0.05). Conclusively, we need to focus more towards controlling infectious skin diseases.
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