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Inpatient dermatology: Where are we headed? A nationwide population‐based study of Spain from 2006 to 2016
Author(s) -
CuencaBarrales Carlos,
VegaMartínez Marina,
DescalzoGallego Miguel Ángel,
GarcíaDoval Ignacio
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jddg: journal der deutschen dermatologischen gesellschaft
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.463
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1610-0387
pISSN - 1610-0379
DOI - 10.1111/ddg.14336
Subject(s) - medicine , cellulitis , emergency medicine , medical diagnosis , university hospital , pediatrics , dermatology , pathology
Summary Background and objectives Information about hospital admissions for skin diseases is restricted to studies describing admissions to single centers, to specific wards, or only for a few diagnoses, and there is no information about the outcomes between different wards. The aim of this research is to describe hospital admissions due to dermatological diseases.Patients and methods Cross‐sectional study of hospital discharges at Spanish hospitals. Discharges were assumed to be the same as admissions.Results 519,440 discharges (1.1 % of total discharges) were identified. Most admissions (60.1 %) were done from emergency departments. Only 7 % of cases were admitted to dermatology wards. The most prevalent group was cellulitis and acute lymphangitis. Median age was 57 years, and men were more common. The median length of hospital stay was four days; 40,823 (7.9 %) cases required readmission. There were 13,558 (2.6 %) hospital deaths. After adjusted analysis (by age, sex and group of diagnosis), the OR of readmission was 1.49 (95 % CI: 1.42–1.57) times higher and length of stay was 0.22 (95 % CI: 0.15–0.29) days longer in non‐dermatology wards ( P < 0.0001). From 2006–2016, admissions to dermatology wards decreased 38 %, while in non‐dermatology wards they increased 8 %.Conclusions A non‐negligible number of patients require dermatological inpatient management. This is mainly provided by non‐dermatologists. Some of our findings may indicate an improved overall care by dermatologists.