TY - JOUR
T1 - Etiology and incidence of chronic ulcers in Blantyre, Malawi
AU - Zeegelaar, Jim E.
AU - Stroïnk, Aimee C.
AU - Steketee, Willemyn H.
AU - Faber, William R.
AU - van der Wal, Allard C.
AU - Komolafe, Isaac O. O.
AU - Dzamalala, Charles
AU - Chibwana, Cecilia
AU - Wendte, Johannes F.
AU - Zijlstra, Eduard E.
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - BACKGROUND: Little information is available on the incidence and etiology of chronic ulcers in the tropics. Therefore, the incidence and etiology of chronic skin ulcers were assessed in out-patients at the Department of Dermatology and in in-patients at the Departments of Dermatology, Surgery, Medicine, and Pediatrics, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre, Malawi. METHOD: In a 10-week study period, 44 patients (31 males, 70%) with chronic skin ulcers were diagnosed from 6292 patients seen by the departments involved. RESULTS: The mean age of patients with ulcers was 38 years (range, 9 months to 82 years). The most frequent cause of ulcers was bacterial infection (n=22), followed by malignancy (n=11) and trauma (n=7). CONCLUSION: In contrast with developed countries, venous and diabetic ulcers were uncommon. In addition to bacterial infections, a surprisingly large number of malignancies were found in this study. We speculate that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, which is seen with a high prevalence at QECH, is a contributing factor. Because of the large number of malignancies, we recommend early histopathologic investigation of chronic ulcers in this part of Africa
AB - BACKGROUND: Little information is available on the incidence and etiology of chronic ulcers in the tropics. Therefore, the incidence and etiology of chronic skin ulcers were assessed in out-patients at the Department of Dermatology and in in-patients at the Departments of Dermatology, Surgery, Medicine, and Pediatrics, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre, Malawi. METHOD: In a 10-week study period, 44 patients (31 males, 70%) with chronic skin ulcers were diagnosed from 6292 patients seen by the departments involved. RESULTS: The mean age of patients with ulcers was 38 years (range, 9 months to 82 years). The most frequent cause of ulcers was bacterial infection (n=22), followed by malignancy (n=11) and trauma (n=7). CONCLUSION: In contrast with developed countries, venous and diabetic ulcers were uncommon. In addition to bacterial infections, a surprisingly large number of malignancies were found in this study. We speculate that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, which is seen with a high prevalence at QECH, is a contributing factor. Because of the large number of malignancies, we recommend early histopathologic investigation of chronic ulcers in this part of Africa
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2006.02858.x
DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2006.02858.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 16911377
SN - 0011-9059
VL - 45
SP - 933
EP - 936
JO - International journal of dermatology
JF - International journal of dermatology
IS - 8
ER -