Study on Skin Diseases Presented at BHC Should be Useful – Paediatrician

The result of a study on dermatological conditions being presented at the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC), in Kingston, could assist stakeholders to adequately diagnose, treat and prevent hospitalisation of children.

Paediatrician and Senior Registrar at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, Dr. Andrew Burton, who conducted the study, titled ‘The Epidemiology of Dermatological Diseases at a Jamaican Paediatric Hospital’, said the results should prove useful in guiding relevant stakeholders when treating with the identified diseases.

Speaking at a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’, Dr. Burton said it is important for parents to be aware of and be able to identify some of the common skin conditions and how to appropriately treat them. He cited the example of the commonly used Whitfield ointment for treating fungal infections.

“That [ointment] may work or have limited use. But if there is ringworm in the scalp or in the nails, the person must present to a doctor, whether it be a paediatrician or a dermatologist, as that requires medication by mouth to completely get rid of the fungus and prevent it from recurring,” Dr. Burton explained. The Senior Registrar added that certain myths could also be dispelled if the common conditions are identified.

“It must be known that not every rash is eczema and the cornerstone to treating it is preventing the itch. So, not only should there be creams to rub on the skin, but also give antihistamines such as Histal or DPH, that you can easily get over the counter, to prevent the itching,” Dr. Burton added.

He further noted that it is the itching that will aggravate the skin and will cause the regular flare-ups.

In the case of papular urticaria, which is an allergic reaction to insect bites, Dr. Burton pointed out that caregivers can make extra effort to prevent the children from getting bites.“Get rid of mosquito breeding sites, use repellant, limit the play of the children outside in sandy areas where there may be sand flies or in tall grass. We could also prevent the progression of that rash, because with each new bite, the old rashes flare up again and new rashes come up,” he said.

Dr. Burton won the awards for the Best Student Presentation, the Most Impactful Poster Presentation and the Best Overall Poster Presentation at the National Health Research Conference in 2021.

His research project was a retrospective descriptive study that was conducted over a five-year period, from 2012 to 2016, using the hospital’s medical records.

He told JIS News that public education is very important, both on the part of parents as well as medical personnel, adding that persons in the medical field could benefit from the study as doctors, whether dermatology trained or otherwise, to more adequately diagnose and treat appropriately to prevent hospitalisation. Dr. Burton said that if general practitioners and primary healthcare physicians at health centres can identify and treat fully, then that will also limit the spread and limit the number of cases that go to the Bustamante Hospital for Children.