Skin pathology of the elderly patients: Case of black African

Abstract

Background: Skin diseases of the elderly subjects have clinical signs which are different from those of the young people. The purpose of this study was to determine the skin diseases that led elderly people to consult at the Department of Dermatology at the University Teaching Hospital in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire. Methods: That was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducting between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015 and including patients 65 years and older who were diagnosed with skin diseases the Department of Dermatology at the University Teaching Hospital in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire. Results: During the study period, 109 patients aged 65 years and older (1.8%) were recruited. These patients consulted for 227 diagnoses. The average age of the patients was 71.8 and sex ratio was 0.7. Mycoses were the major reason for consultation (18.7%) followed by pruritus (17.9%), eczema (13.1%), and (9.0%) tumors with 76.5% of benign tumors and (5.1%) disorders of keratinization. Leg ulcers were 2.1%. Mycoses were represented by intertrigo (52.9%) and dermatomycosis of the glabrous skin (25.7%). Kaposi sarcoma and keloid were the most frequent tumors. Conclusion: Our study shows a predominance of mycosis, eczema, and pruritus in the elderly subjects. Mycoses and pruritus could result from the weather and the skin aging, respectively