Zou Xiaofang, Lu XiaoJuan, Wu Haotian
Objective to analyze the disease spectrum, demographic and departmental distribution characteristics of dermatological consultations among elderly inpatients, and compare the differences between internal medicine and surgical departments, so as to provide evidence for multidisciplinary management of cutaneous disorders in older adults and clinical teaching. Methods Clinical data of dermatological consultations for elderly inpatients aged ≥60 years at Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital from January to December 2024 were retrospectively collected. Patient age, gender, requesting department and consultation diagnosis were recorded. Diseases were classified uniformly, and comparisons were performed between the internal medicine system and surgical system. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 26.0. Results A total of 1,285 patients were enrolled with a male-to-female ratio of 1.38:1 and a mean age of (76.2 ± 9.3) years. Dermatitis and eczema ranked first (32.8%), followed by sexually transmitted diseases (12.9%) and viral dermatoses (8.7%). With advancing age, the proportions of dermatitis/eczema and pruritic dermatoses increased, while the proportion of drug eruptions decreased (all P < 0.05). No significant gender-based difference was observed in the disease spectrum (P > 0.05). The top 10 departments requesting consultations all belonged to the internal medicine system. The proportion of sexually transmitted diseases in surgical departments was significantly higher than that in internal medicine departments (21.2% vs 10.6%, P < 0.001). Dermatitis and eczema were more prevalent in internal medicine, whereas drug eruptions were more common in surgery (both P < 0.05). Conclusion Dermatoses encountered during dermatological consultations for elderly inpatients exhibit distinct age- and department-specific distribution patterns. Clinicians should strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration, prioritize the prevention and management of infectious and drug-related cutaneous diseases, standardize basic skin care for hospitalized older adults, and adjust the focus of dermatology residency training accordingly.