Prevalence of Misuse of Topical Corticosteroid among Dermatology Outpatients

INTRODUCTION: Topical corticosteroids misuse has become one of the burning issues in many countries across the globe. They are known to cause a myriad of adverse effects which include local effects commonly and systemic effects rarely. In dermatology practice, one of the common problems we see these days are steroid-induced and steroid aggravated dermatoses. So, this study was done to find the prevalence of misuse of topical corticosteroid among dermatology outpatients. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the outpatient department of dermatology at a tertiary care hospital for 18 months. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of NMCTH (Reference no. 029-076/077). Convenient sampling was done. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16 was used to tabulate the data and analyze the results. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: Out of 19464 patients, 614 (3.15%) (2.91%-3.39% at 95% Confidence Interval) gave a history of applying steroid containing creams. Among them, 220 (35.8%) belonged to the age group 21-30 years. Dermatophytoses were the skin disease where TCS was most commonly misused followed by melasma in 425 (69.2%) and 115 (18.7%) respectively. Beclomethasone was the steroid preparation that was misused in the maximum number of patients in 271 (44.1%). Some form of adverse effects was seen in 554 (88.6%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Non-prescription sale of topical corticosteroids is the major cause of topical corticosteroids abuse in Nepal. Creating awareness among the prescribers as well as the patients is the current need.