Cutaneous Symptoms Observed in Patients Hospitalized in Gastroenterology Service: A 207-Case Single-Center Study

Objective: To characterize the spectrum of cutaneous findings observed in adult patients hospitalized for gastroenterological diseases who required dermatology
consultation.
Materials and Methods: In this single-center, prospective, cross-sectional descriptive study, adult patients hospitalized in the Gastroenterology Service of Gaziantep
University Faculty of Medicine between September 2022 and September 2023 were evaluated when dermatologic findings were present. Demographic and clinical
data, underlying gastroenterological diagnoses, medications, dermatologic symptoms, lesion morphology, distribution, duration and final dermatologic diagnoses
were recorded. Diagnoses were based on history and complete dermatologic examination, supplemented by potassium hydroxide microscopy, wound culture and
histopathologic examination when clinically indicated. Data were analyzed descriptively.
Results: A total of 207 patients were included (107 men [51.69%] and 100 women [48.31%]; mean age, 54.30 ± 18.75 years). The most frequent underlying diagnoses
were pancreatic diseases (26.09%), hepatobiliary disorders (23.67%), liver cirrhosis (19.81%), gastrointestinal malignancy (16.43%) and inflammatory bowel disease
(8.21%). The most common cutaneous findings were pruritus (60.38%), skin color changes, mainly icterus or pallor (56.52%), xerosis cutis (45.41%), hyperkeratotic
changes (43.47%) and infections (35.26%). Dermatologic diagnoses were most often established clinically by history and physical examination.
Conclusion: Dermatologic findings in hospitalized gastroenterology patients are heterogeneous and include disease-related clues as well as nonspecific findings
related to age, nutritional status, systemic illness or treatment. In this selected consultation-based cohort, pruritus, color change and xerosis were the leading
findings. These data support dermatologic assessment when cutaneous symptoms are present in gastroenterology wards, but should not be interpreted as prevalence
estimates for all gastroenterology inpatients.