Skin disorders in preschool environment in the city of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso): Epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects

Abstract

Background: Preschool children are a vulnerable to skin diseases. However, the epidemiological and clinical profil of these conditions is little studied in this population in Burkina Faso. The purpose of this work was to study the skin conditions for pre-school children in the city of Ouagadougou. Patients et Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study from March to June 2017, including children aged 2-6 years, regularly enrolled in a public or private nursery school. We conducted two stages cluster sampling from the list of 23 public awakening and preschool education centers and the 359 deprived of the city of Ouagadougou. The minimum sample size was calculated to 2 234 children with Swartzch formula. Epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic variables were sought. Results: Out of 2 342 examined children, 792 were presenting a dermatoses, that is a frequency of 33.8 percent. Boys accounted for 50.9 percent. The average age was 4 years. Infectious skin diseases accounted for 33.3%, and the inflammatory 18.4%. The most frequent infectious dermatoses were the folliculitis/boils (18.5%), ringworm (7.6%) and dermatophytie of the glabrous skin (2.3%). Inflammatory and immuno-allergic dermatoses were the sweating Miliaria (17.9%), Seborrheic Dermatitis (2.1%) and prurigo (2%). Genodermatoses and malformations were the naevi (9.6%), angioma (0.5%) and lichen striatus (0.5%). Parents were unaware the existence of their children dermatosis in 95.4% of the cases. Only 36 children had consulted a health officer before the investigation, most often after a traditional treatment failure. No school had an infirmary. Conclusion: dermatological disorders are common in preschool. Also, they are ignored or trivialized by parents and teachers. Awareness campaigns, would allow a screening and early treatment of these conditions