Pattern of lower leg and foot eczema in patients attending a tertiary care hospital in North East India

TLDR: Estimating frequency and patterns of lower leg and foot eczemas in patients attending Dermatology OPD in a tertiary care centre in North East India during the tenure period from July 2018 to June 2019 highlights lichen simplex chronicus as the most common eczema affecting the lower legs and feet.

Abstract: Introduction: The pattern of eczema is altered by geography, habits of people and environmental factors and regional variation in skin structure and function. Lower leg and foot eczemas are one of the common problems observed by dermatologist. It has many underlying causes and finding the pattern helps in proper management of cases. Aim: Our study was done to estimate frequency and patterns of lower leg and foot eczemas in patients attending Dermatology OPD in a tertiary care centre in North East India during the tenure period from July 2018 to June 2019. Materials and Methods: First 100 cases of clinically diagnosed cases of various types of lower leg and foot eczemas were recruited over a period of 1 year. Demographic and clinical characteristics were noted. Results: Among 100 cases, 52 were male and 48 were female patients with male-to-female ratio of 1.08: 1 and mean age of incidence was found to be 40 yrs. In our study, the most common endogenous eczema was found to be lichen simplex chronicus(30%), atopic dermatitis(8%), followed by asteatotic eczema (7%) and podopompholyx (7)% respectively. In exogenous eczema, cumulative irritant contact dermatitis was the most common eczema (10%) followed by infected eczema(7%) and allergic contact dermatitis(6%). Most common site involved was dorsum of foot in 41% cases. Conclusion: Our study highlights lichen simplex chronicus as the most common eczema affecting the lower legs and feet with most common site involved was dorsum of foot. Keywords: Lower leg and foot, Eczema.