Atopic dermatitis: frequency of associated disorders in children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66344/jpad.v15i2.630Keywords:
Atopy, endogenous eczema, Dennie-Morgan fold, infectionsAbstract
Background Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of multifactorial origin. It is
the most common type of childhood eczema seen in our community. Most of these patients
have a positive family or personal history of atopy in the form of asthma, allergic rhinitis or
hay fever. Multiple dermatological disorders are associated with the atopic dermatitis.
Objective The study was aimed to see the frequency of these associations in children with
atopic dermatitis in our community and to compare these results with international literature.
Patients and methods The study was carried out in the department of dermatology, “Ziauddin
Medical University, KDLB Campus†from 1st September 2003 to 31st August 2004. All the
freshly registered patients up to 15 years of age suffering from atopic dermatitis were
enrolled in the study. The clinical diagnosis was made on the basis of diagnostic criteria for
atopic dermatitis described by UK’s working party. All the findings were recorded on a
preformed pro forma and relevant investigations carried out. Results were compiled and
tabulated.
Results The family history of atopy was positive in 78 patients (68.4%) while the personal
history of atopy in 48 (42.1%). Irritant contact reactions were commonly observed in 52
patients (45.6%). Dry and cold weather exacerbated the disease in 85 patients (74.5%) while
3 patients (2.6%) suffered aggravation in summer. Among endogenous eczemas discoid
eczema was seen in 27 patients (30.8%), pityriasis alba in 21 (18.4%), and seborrheic
dermatitis in 10 patients (8.8%). The most common infections were bacterial, seen in 12
patients (10.5%) followed by viral and fungal infections seen in 9 (7.8%) and 4 patients
(3.5%), respectively. Nail changes like pitting, ridging, thickening and discoloration were
seen in 7 patients (6.1%). Other findings observed in our patients were Dennie-Morgan fold
in 4 patients (3.5%) and cataract in 5 patients (4.5%).
Conclusion Atopic dermatitis is associated with multiple conditions. A high percentage of
patients have a positive family or personal history of atopy. Environmental factors like
weather, irritants and infections cause worsening of the disease. Atopic patients have an
increased frequency of other endogenous eczemas and nail and eye changes.
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Copyright (c) 2016 Sarwat Nasreen, Zarnaz Wahid, Ijaz Ahmed
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