A review of the prevalence and factors associated with the development and prevention of diaper dermatitis in infants

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to understand the prevalence and factors associated with diaper dermatitis in infants to contribute to disseminating to nurses the characteristics of infants predisposed to developing diaper dermatitis through a research review.

Methods

A search was conducted using the Ichushi Web, version 5, of the Japan Medical Abstracts Society and MEDLINE databases from search engine PubMed using the following combinations of key words: infant and diaper rash. Two authors reviewed the articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results were limited to original articles in Japanese and English within the past 30 years up to May 27, 2019. Statistically significant factors associated with the development and prevention of diaper dermatitis were extracted from the selected articles.

Results

Thirteen articles were selected. The point prevalence of diaper dermatitis ranged between 11.5 and 70.6%, while its period prevalence was between 15.2 and 90.6%, both showing a wide range. The definition of diaper dermatitis included whether diaper dermatitis was present and the evaluation of its degree of severity was performed. Diaper dermatitis was identified by the evaluator when certain symptoms were present or a case of dermatitis was clear, regardless of the type of symptoms and their severity (as well as without defining symptoms). Factors associated with the development and prevention of diaper dermatitis were attributed to infants, skin condition, digestive condition, health condition, nutrition method, skin care method, and childcare environment. Many risk factors were associated with infants' digestive or skin conditions, and a few studies focused on skin care, such as apply products as preventives.

Conclusion

Further studies are needed to standardize the methods for evaluating diaper dermatitis because of the wide range of prevalence caused by disagreements in methods of symptom evaluation. Few studies have indicated the relationship between diaper dermatitis and skin care methods used at home, and further research is required in this regard.