Clinical Aspects of Atopic Dermatitis of Children in Brazzaville, Congo.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis for which racial specificities have been reported.

To describe the clinical aspects of atopic dermatitis on children.

Descriptive cross-sectional study in one public hospital and one private hospital in Brazzaville, Congo, for three years. Children under the age of 16, consulted for atopic dermatitis were included. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Atopic dermatitis was defined according to the criteria of the United Kingdom Working Party and its severity appreciated by SCORAD. The data was processed by EpiInfo 7® software.

Seventy-five children were included. They were 49 girls (65.33%) and 26 boys (34.67%), mean age 4.3 years [9 months-12 years]. Personal atopic history was found in 46.67% of cases and family atopic history in 61.33% of cases. Initial symptoms of atopic dermatitis had occurred before 2 years of age for 65 children (86.67%). The average consultation time was 33.4 months. In infancy, erythematous vesicular or oozing plaques were observed in 68.18% of cases and scaly erythematous plaques on folds in 50% of cases. In childhood, scaly erythematous plaques were observed in 84.90% of cases and lichenified eczema in 10.67% of cases. Xerosis was noted in 89.33% of all cases. Secondary infection was seen in 33.33% of cases. Twenty-five cases (33.33%) were severe.

This study reveals a delayed diagnosis of atopic dermatitis, unusual clinical features and the importance of secondary infection. Information for families and clinicians should be considered to improve the earliness of the diagnosis.