A Survey of Skin Disease among Patients in an Australian Nursing Home

Abstract

Although the number of nursing homes is increasing in Australia, few studies have investigated the der- matologic condition of their patients.To address this issue, we conducted one of the first skin disease investigations of nursing home residents in Queensland, Australia.Methods:Our predominant data source was the attending physicians' medical reports, which are updated monthly following their physi- cal examination of each patient.Specialist podiatrists' monthly progress notes were also used as were daily nursing reports.Results:Just over half the patients(54.4%)had at least one skin disease regis- tered among their medical records.Xerosis(dry skin)was the most common affliction, affecting 29.5% of the patients, followed by onychomycosis(tinea unguium)at 22.5% and dermatitis(8.9%).Skin can- cer was recorded in 4.9%, while excoriation(3.1%)and unspecified keratosis(2.2%)were slightly less common.Being bedridden was identified as a risk factor for both xerosis(OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.8-8.7)and onychomycosis(OR 18.0, 95% CI 7.5-49.0).Conclusion:Overall, our research suggests that skin dis- eases are reasonably common among Australian nursing home patients.The presence of certain der- matologic conditions differed from other reports.J Epidemiol 2002;12:336-340.