Assessment of Quality of Life among outpatients Visiting Dermatology Department at a Hospital in Pokhara, Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Skin is the outer covering of the body and thus it is exposed to injury by various extrinsic factors such as environmental, chemical, infectious agents as well as intrinsic factors such as metabolic, genetic and immunological. Considering the fact that these are the major contributors of disease burden in society, this study was conducted to assess the impact of dermatological conditions on quality of life by using dermatological life quality index (DLQI).

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in the outpatient department of Green Pastures Hospital of Pokhara, Nepal. The validated dermatology Life Quality Index questionnaires were assessed to analyze the result.

Results: A total of 246 patients (135 females and 111 males) were enrolled. The skin diseases were seen mostly in the age group of 19-29 (39.4%). The major skin disease seen in the study were Tinea skin infections (21.1%), Urticaria (11.8%), Eczema (11.1%), Dermatitis (10.6%) followed by Acne (8.1%) and so on.The quality of life of patients had improved after taking the medication.

Conclusion: Demographic variants did not have significanteffect on quality of life. However, the study showed that there was a notable improvement in quality of life of patients after follow-up visit in comparison to the first visit. Therefore, the proper use of medication showed the positive impact on quality of life among the patient of skin diseases.