Atopic Dermatitis: Epidemiology and Clinical Pattern in Khartoum Dermatology and Venereology Teaching Hospital

Background: Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, relapsing, pruritic inflammation of epidermis and dermis, often associated with a personal or family history of asthma, conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis or atopic dermatitis. Objective: It was purposing to measure the prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis, to determine the demographic variations, the provocation factors, clinical presentation and the associated atopic diseases. Patients and Methods: This study is an observational, descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional, hospital-based. It was carried out during the period from September 2014 to January 2015. The study was conducted at Khartoum Dermatology and Venereology Teaching Hospital. The pre-designed questionnaire collected the data, and the diagnosis was followed Hanifin and Rajka criteria. Results: The prevalence of atopic dermatitis among Sudanese patients attending Khartoum hospital in the period from September 2014 - January 2015 was found to be (1.15%). The total number of patients with atopic dermatitis in this study was 60 patients, 33 of them represents (55%) were females, the most affected ages were infants (0-18 months) represented (41.7%). The majority of the patients represented (53.3%) were suffering from atopic dermatitis for months. Most of the patients represented (70%) had no other atopic. Atopic dermatitis was found in (15%) of patients’ siblings, (10%) of their mothers. Moreover, family history of atopic diseases was found among (55%) of the patient’s families. Localized atopic dermatitis was found in (65%) of the patients. Most of the patients were found in the acute stage (41.7%). Provocating factors were detected in all patients in form of contact irritants (33.3%), weather (25%), infection (11.7%), drug (10%), contact and weather (8.3%), dust (6.7%), food and weather (3.3%) and stress (1.7%). Most of the patients (28.3%) presented with macules, papules, pustules and crust and least (16.7%) with papules, vesicles, and crust with flexural distribution in most of them (26.7%).