Publication:

Overview of exanthems: a case series in a tertiary care hospital

Background Generalized rashes are the most common conditions seen by primary care physician and the most common reason for new patient visit to dermatologists. There is often difficulty in diagnosing a generalized rash because many conditions produce similar rashes and a single condition can result in rashes with varied appearance. Accurate diagnosis is important because treatment varies depending on the cause. Hence, we decided to undertake a steady on the various presentations of exanthems in Madras medical college Chennai. To find out the incidence of exanthems in the OPD of Department of Dermatology, Venerology and Leprosy (DVL) in Madras Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai to help in early diagnosis and treatment of the diseases.

Methods The study included all the newly diagnosed cases attending to the OPD of DVL, Madras Medical College, Chennai for a period of three months. Diagnosis was done based on clinical grounds and lab investigations were done whenever required.

Results An analytical study of the medical records of patients attending the OPD of DVL, Madras Medical College, Chennai shows that maculopapular rash is the most common presentation of exanthems followed by papules, vesiculobullous, pustular, nodules, verrucous lesions.

Conclusions The present study includes exanthems as a whole on contrary to many such studies performed in other parts of India which included rashes caused by viral infections and drugs. Our study included generalized skin eruptions due to infections, drugs, specific dermatoses, allergy.