Temporal trends in scabies-related emergency department visits: a retrospective trend analysis of 10,994 visits: Scabies trends in emergency department visits
Annals of Medicine, cilt.58, sa.1, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 58 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/07853890.2026.2718551
- Dergi Adı: Annals of Medicine
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Directory of Open Access Journals, Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Dermatology, epidemiology, recurrence, scabies
- Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background: Scabies is a contagious skin infestation caused by Sarcoptes scabiei and affects over 200 million people worldwide. Changes in behaviour and living conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced its transmission dynamics. This study aimed to evaluate temporal trends and epidemiological characteristics of scabies-related emergency department (ED) visits. Methods: In this single-centre retrospective ED-based trend analysis, 10,994 scabies-related emergency department visits recorded with a principal diagnosis of scabies between January 2022 and October 2023 were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and negative binomial regression were used to assess temporal trends and associated factors. Results: Of all visits, 10,434 (94.9%) were initial and 560 (5.1%) were early repeat visits. The mean age was 22.3 ± 18.1 years, and 57.2% of visits occurred in males. Monthly visit counts fluctuated over time, ranging from 236 in January 2022 to a peak of 737 in December 2022. Negative binomial regression indicated a significant average monthly increase in ED visit counts (IRR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.03–1.07, p < 0.001), and provided a substantially better fit than Poisson regression (ΔAIC > 500). However, in the denominator-adjusted sensitivity analysis using monthly green-zone ED visits as an offset, the temporal increase was attenuated and was not statistically significant (IRR = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.99–1.03, p = 0.268). Conclusion: Scabies-related ED visits increased during the observation period; however, these findings should be interpreted as increased ED visit burden rather than direct evidence of population-level incidence. Strengthened surveillance, early recognition, contact management, and adherence-focused interventions may help reduce scabies-related healthcare burden.