PREVALENT DERMATOLOGICAL DISEASES IN A CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL IN THE PUBLIC NETWORK OF SÃO PAULO (Atena Editora)

Abstract

The skin is the largest organ of the human body, having many important functions, such as protection against external agents, tactile and thermal sensitivity, in addition to controlling basal temperature, favoring exchanges between the external and internal environment. Dermatological diseases have a high incidence in medical care, especially in pediatric consultations, given the greater fragility of the infant's integument in relation to that of the adult, due to anatomical and physiological differences. It is known that skin diseases cause a great degree of embarrassment, directly and indirectly affecting the psychosocial and economic development of children and their guardians. Thus, the present study used, as an instrument of analysis, the data extracted from a questionnaire with demographic and clinical variables, applied to 226 patients between 0 and 12 years old, with a mean age of 5.98 years, between September/2019 and March/2020, at Hospital Infantil Cândido Fontoura in São Paulo – SP at the Dermatology Ambulatory. Through a descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative study, the demographic and clinical variables were correlated with the psychosocial impacts generated by the disease on the child and those responsible for them. It was identified that the main complaint referred was 'Skin lesions' - according to the patient's own words, and most of the children questioned had previous comorbidities, such as allergic rhinitis and bronchitis. In addition, the signs and/or symptoms described did not directly impact the behavior of most children, despite the chronicity, demonstrating that the dermatosis psychologically affects those responsible more psychologically.