[Profile of skin diseases observed in a department of dermatology (1995-2000)].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the nature and frequency of skin diseases observed at the Dermatology Department (Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital) between January 1st, 1995 and December 31, 1999, and to compare them according to age and sex. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All the patients who presented to the consultation were enclosed in the study. Their file included sex, age, one or several diagnoses, the number of visits for each disease. Only new diagnoses were taken into account. Data were handled by Epilnfo program. RESULTS: 6822 patients (59.01% women, 40.99% men, average age 31 years) were seen with 8552 diagnoses. Fungal infections represent the most frequent disease (14.6%), followed by acne (14.1%), eczema (8.56%), viral infections (7.9%) and skin tumors (7.28%). Women consulted more often than men for acne, rosacea, eczema, hair loss, melasma and stretch marks; whereas men consulted more often for fungal and viral infections, and alopecia areata. DISCUSSION: The most frequent skin diseases (all ages merged), were fungal infections, acne and eczema. The same three diagnoses were found before as the most frequent in a previous Lebanese study. The profile of skin diseases in Lebanon turns out very close to observations made in developed countries, but it differs from the Western profile on two fundamental points: absence of leg ulcers and rarity of skin tumors. This profile seems, besides, very remote from the Middle-Eastern and Arabic context especially because of the absence of some endemic diseases such as tinea capitis, leprosy and leishmaniosis.