Demographic and clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients in dermatology clinic

Abstract

Objective: In this study our aim was to determine demographic and clinical features of patients who were diagnosed and treated in dermatology clinic. Methods: The inpatient clinical records of the Dermatology Department of Dicle University, between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2013, were retrospectively assessed. Results: A total of 1223 patients were evaluated between the ages of 2 to 105 years. The most common causes of admission were eczema, inflammatory skin disease and autoimmune bullous disease. The average length of patient admission was 9.81 days. The average cost was found to be 926 Turkish Lira. The longest length of stay was seen in malignant skin tumors, autoimmune bullous diseases and inflammatory diseases. The shortest length of stay was found in eczemas, drug reactions and urticaria. The highest cost was detected for autoimmune bullous diseases, malignant skin tumors and inflammatory dermatoses while the lowest cost was detected for eczemas and urticaria. Conclusion: We think that knowing the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients hospitalized in the dermatology service would be helpful for the planning, sustainability of health care services and treatment and to be held in a more appropriate level of cost ratio.