Background: Periorbital dermatoses are very common dermatological disorders which pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the treating dermatologist due to the similarity of symptoms in this area.
Aims: To study the spectrum of periorbital dermatoses and to assess the association of systemic diseases with periorbital dermatoses.
Methods: This was a hospital based descriptive study done on 250 consecutive patients irrespective of their age and sex who attended the Dermatology out patient department (OPD), with dermatological conditions pertaining to the periorbital area over a period of 2 years from October 2010 to September 2012.
Results: The most common dermatological conditions seen in the periorbital region were benign and malignant skin tumors observed in 63 (25.2%) cases, followed by the disorders of pigmentation in 51 (20.4%) and eczema in 44 cases (17.6%), infections in 33 (13.2%) cases and nevoid conditions in 26 (10.4%) cases. Certain periorbital dermatoses were significantly more in females than in males in the present study like skin tags, connective tissue diseases, and periorbital melanosis (POM). Some periorbital dermatoses were significantly more common in older age group such as seborrheic keratoses, skin tags and airborne contact dermatitis whereas infections, syringomas, allergic contact dermatitis and atopic dermatitis were more prevalent in younger age group. Syringomas and POM were more common in middle-aged women.
Conclusions: The most common dermatological condition seen in the periorbital region in this study are benign skin tumors (keratosis and skin tags), followed by the disorders of pigmentation and eczema, infections and nevoid conditions.