PAN AFRICAN JOURNAL OF LIFE SCIENCES
e-ISSN: 2672-5924
Volume 9, No. 3, December 2025
Pages 578– 585
DOI: 10.36108/pajols/5202/90.0340
Spectrum of Skin Disorders Seen among Children Attending the Paediatric Outpatient Clinic of a Private Health Institution in South-West Nigeria
Michael G. Israel1, Yetunde T. Olasinde2, Oluwaseyi K. Israel3*, Michael A. Alao2, Efeturi Agelebe2, Abimbola O. Odeyemi2, Daniel A. Gbadero2.
1Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences Ladoke Akintola University Ogbomoso
2Department of Paediatric and Child Health, Faculty of Clinical Sciences BOWEN University Iwo and Bowen University Teaching Hospital Ogbomoso
3Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences Ladoke Akintola University Ogbomoso.
Abstract
Background: Skin disorders constitute a health problem in children, especially in children under the age of five. The spectrum of skin disorders in children ranges from infectious diseases in developing countries to allergic diseases in the developed world. The burden of skin disorders has previously been overlooked but more recently, skin disorders like scabies have been added to the list of neglected tropical diseases. The burden of skin disorders in children attending the Bowen University Teaching Hospital (BUTH), Ogbomoso, Nigeria is unknown. This study therefore, determined the spectrum of skin disorders, the treatments offered, and the associated factors.
Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among patients between 0-18years attending the paediatric outpatient and dermatology clinics of the Bowen University Teaching Hospital (BUTH), Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Eligible subjects age 0-18 years were recruited at the paediatric and dermatology clinic consecutively over 6 months until the mini-mum sample size of 110 subjects was attained. Data was obtained using a pre-tested validated questionnaire on skin diseases. Data were analysed with SPSS version 23.0 and socio demographic data and frequencies of skin diseases groups were pre-sented in a tabular and pictorial formats.
Results: A total of 110 respondents were included in the study. The majority of participants were children aged 5 years or younger (58.2%), followed by those aged 5–10 years (28.6%), and a smaller proportion were aged 10 years or older (13.2%). Regarding sex, males accounted for 60.4% of the respondents, while females accounted for 39.6%. Frequencies of skin diseases identified in this study, in the order of occurrence, included infective skin disorder in 53.8%, allergic skin dis-order in 46.2%, pigmentary skin disorder in 44.0%, papulosquamous skin disorder in 40.7% and pilosebaceous gland disor-der in 34.1% of the sample size.
Conclusion: A wide range of skin diseases was reported in the paediatric/dermatology clinic at BUTH Ogbomoso, South-west Nigeria. The pattern of skin diseases differed slightly from reports from different parts of the country, with infec-tious skin diseases the most common cause.
Keywords: Skin disorder, infective, allergic, pigmentary, papulosquamous, pilosebaceous