Study of Pediatric Dermatology Consultations During COVID-19 Lockdown

The study analyzed pediatric dermatology consultations during the COVID-19 lockdown at a tertiary care hospital in India. Out of 539 patients who attended the dermatology outpatient department (OPD), 36 (6.67%) were children aged ≤18 years. The majority of these cases (50%) involved pruritic skin diseases, while a small number (5.5%) were true dermatological emergencies. The rest (44.4%) had nonpruritic, non-emergency conditions. The study concluded that most of these consultations could have been avoided, suggesting that teleconsultation would have been sufficient for the majority of the pediatric patients during the lockdown, thus avoiding unnecessary travel and potential exposure to COVID-19.