ISSN: 2574-7800
Authors: Bayonne Kombo ES* and Gathse A
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an pruritic inflammatory skin disease, responsible in its severe forms, of psychological disorders and familial stress. The objectives of study were to describe epidemiological and clinical aspects and to determine the factors associated with the severity of atopic dermatitis. Patients and methods: Descriptive and analytic cross-sectional study, conducted from January 2016 to December 2018 in Brazzaville (Congo) in two health facilities. Children aged between 1 month and 15 years, received for an atopic dermatitis were included. The variables studied were demographic data, clinical data (history of atopy, age at the onset of symptoms, degree of severity appreciated by the SCORAD index, complications) and serum total-IgE level. The processing of data used Epi Info software and the Khi-2 test with Fisher correction or Yates correction as appropriate. The p-value was significant under than 0.05. Results: Of the 75 cases of AD included, 25 were severe, representing a frequency of 33.3%. There were 17 girls (68.0%) and 8 boys (32.0%), mean age 4.6 years (SD = 3.54). All the children came from an urban area. The average duration of disease progression was 39.76 months (SD = 20.7). A family history of atopy was noted in 17 cases (68.0%). Atopic comorbidity was found in 14 children (56.0%). The lesions were located on flexure folds in 52% of case, on face and diffuse in 24% of cases respectively. Secondary infection was found in 76.0% of cases (n=19). Total-IgE serum level was elevated in 18 out of 21 children tested (85.7%). Infectious complications (p <0.001) and high serum total-IgE level (p <0.001) were associated with severe AD. Conclusion: This study reveals the high frequency of severe form of atopic dermatitis in childhood. It identifies secondary infection and elevated total-IgE serum as factors associated with the severity of the disease. This suggests preventive actions against infection in children with AD.
Keywords: Atopic Dermatitis; Eczema; Severity; Childhood
