Common pathogens isolated from eczematous dermatitis patients and their associations with clinical stages

OBJECTIVE To detect the common pathogens for the patients with eczematous dermatitis and analyze associations between the pathogens and the clinical stages.

METHODS A total of 206 patients with eczematous dermatitis who were treated in Jinhua Central Hospital from Jan. 2014 to Jan. 2024 were enrolled in the study and were divided into the secondary skin lesion group with 92 cases and the non-secondary skin lesion group with 114 cases according to the characteristics of the lesions. Meanwhile, the people who received physical examination and had no history of eczematous dermatitis were chosen as the control group with 91 cases. The distribution and density of the common pathogens were compared among the three groups and among the patients with different clinical stages (the acute stage, the subacute stage and the chronic stage) of eczematous dermatitis. The scores of skin lesion were compared among the patients.

RESULTS Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Malassezia were dominant among the isolated pathogens; both the positive rates of pathogens and the densities of pathogens, from the high to the low, were as follows: the secondary skin lesion group > the non-secondary skin lesion group > the control group (P < 0.05). The isolation rate of S. aureus of the secondary skin lesion group and the non-secondary skin lesion group were higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05); the isolation rate of Malassezia of the secondary skin lesion group was higher than that of the non-secondary skin lesion group (P < 0.05). The score of skin lesion of the patients detected positive for pathogens was higher than that of the patients detected negative (P < 0.05). Among the patients detected positive for pathogens, the score of skin lesion of the acute stage patients was higher than that of the subacute stage patients and the chronic stage patients(P < 0.05); the isolation rates of S. aureus and Malassezia and the density of pathogens of the acute stage patients were higher than those of the chronic stage patients (P < 0.05), and the density of pathogens of the subacute stage patients was higher than that of the chronic stage patients (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS S. aureus, S. epidermidis and Malassezia are the common pathogens isolated from the patients with eczematous dermatitis. The positive rates and densities of pathogens are higher among the patients with secondary skin lesions, and the infections with the pathogens are associated with the severity of skin lesion and the clinical stage.