Dermatological face of Syrian civil war

Background and Design: The frequency and variety of dermatological diseases significantly changed after 2011 in the regions where the Syrian refugees migrated because of the civil war in Syria where is bordered by our country. To reveal these changing, the demographic and dermatological data of the Syrian refugees were retrospectively examined in faculty of medicine, department of dermatology of our city where a significant amount of Syrian refugees have been living. Materials and Methods: A total of 326 refugees immigrated to our city and have been living in tent cities, and applied to our department between September 2012-July 2014 were included to our study. Age, gender, dermatological and laboratory findings were retrospectively examined. Skin diseases were examined in 16 groups according to the their frequency. The patients were divided into 4 age groups as 0-20, 21-40, 41-60 and, 61 and over; three most common diseases for each age group were analyzed. Results: Of 326 patients, 126 (38.7%) were males, 200 (61.3%) were females and the difference was significant in term of gender. The age range of the patients was 0 to 77 years, and the mean age was 21.6 +/- 10.5. The majority of patients were in 0-20 age group. Dermatological infectious diseases were the most frequent diseases group and cutaneous leishmaniasis was the most diagnosed dermatological disease among patients. Conclusion: Preventive health care services should be performed to prevent dermatological infectious diseases which are commonly seen in Syrian refugees, especially cutaneous leishmaniasis which is already endemic in our country, and limitations to reach physicians of these patients should be amended.