Article

Objective To identify dermatological conditions following spinal cord injury
(SCI) and analyze these conditions in relation to various characteristics of SCI.
Design Retrospective chart review. Setting National Health Insurance Corporation
Ilsan Hospital of Korea, Rehabilitation Center, Spinal Cord Unit. Participants
Patients treated for SCI who were referred to dermatology for dermatological
problems, 2000-2012. Results Of the 1408 SCI patients treated at the spinal cord
unit, 253 patients with SCI were identified to have been referred to dermatology
for skin problems and a total of 335 dermatological conditions were diagnosed.
The most common dermatological finding was infectious (n = 123, 36.7%) followed
by eczematous lesions (n = 109, 32.5%). Among the infectious lesions, fungal
infection (n = 76, 61.8%) was the most common, followed by bacterial (n = 27,
21.9%) lesions. Seborrheic dermatitis (n = 59, 64.1%) was the most frequent
eczematous lesion. Ingrown toenail occurred more frequently in tetraplegics
whereas vascular skin lesions occurred more commonly in patients with paraplegia
(P < 0.05). Xerotic dermatitis showed a higher occurrence within 12 months of
injury rather than thereafter (P < 0.05). Of these, 72.4% of the infectious and
94.7% of the fungal skin lesions manifested below the neurological level of
injury (NLI; P < 0.001) and 61.5% of the eczematous lesions and 94.9% of
seborrheic dermatitis cases occurred above the NLI (P < 0.001). There was no
significant difference in dermatological diagnoses between patients with
neurologically complete and incomplete SCI. Conclusion The most common
dermatological condition in patients with SCI among those referred to dermatology
was fungal infection, followed by seborrheic dermatitis. Although dermatological
problems after SCI are not critical in SCI outcome, they negatively affect the
quality of life. Patients and caregivers should be educated about appropriate
skin care and routine dermatological examinations.

Langue : ANGLAIS