Hospital-Based Prevalence of Dermatophytes and Other Skin Infections among Children in Imo State, Nigeria: A Ten-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Skin infections in childhood continue to be a major cause of morbidity in tropical and resource-poor environments. Dermatophyte diseases, particularly tinea capitis and other superficial mycoses, are easily transmitted among youngsters by intimate contact, sharing personal things, household crowding and conducive environmental factors. Despite their clinical and public health importance, long-term hospital-based data on childhood dermatophytes and other skin infections are scarce in Southeast Nigeria. Ten years of study was conducted to determine the hospital-based prevalence of dermatophytes and other reported skin illnesses among children attending selected tertiary health institutions in Imo State, Nigeria. A retrospective cross-sectional evaluation of paediatric hospital records was undertaken in three designated referral institutions in Imo State. We reviewed the records of children 0–15 years old who attended the participating institutions from January 2015 to December 2024. Eligible individuals had a documented diagnosis of a dermatophyte, bacterial, viral or parasitic skin infection. The hospital-based period prevalence was computed with the total number of paediatric attendance records during the study period as denominator. Prevalence estimates were reported with 95% Wilson confidence intervals. A total of 17,200 paediatric attendance records were analysed, 391 of which had a proven skin infection. The overall hospital-based period prevalence of recorded skin infections was 2.27% (95% CI: 2.06%–2.51%), or approximately 22.7 cases per 1,000 paediatric attendees or 1 case per 44 paediatric attendees. The results suggest that dermatophytes and other infectious skin diseases represented a consistent clinical burden among children presenting for care at tertiary health institutions in Imo State over the 10-year study period. Childhood dermatophytes and other skin infections represent a clinically significant component of paediatric morbidity in tertiary healthcare settings in Imo State. However, the prevalence observed relates to reported instances in children who attended hospital treatment and should not be used as a measure of population prevalence. The reduction of skin infections of childhood may be achieved by strengthening the routine dermatological monitoring; improvement of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment; promotion of the personal and environmental cleanliness; and by implementation of school- and community-based skin-health education. Prospective and community-based studies are necessary to establish the true incidence in the population and to identify specific risk factors for dermatophyte and other skin infections among children in Imo State