Assessment of Clinical Profile and Impact of Different Risk Factors among Scabietic Children at Khartoum Teaching Hospital

Background: Scabies is a widespread health issue that is currently underappreciated, mostly in developing nations. The WHO's strategy for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030, which aims to achieve the unmet Sustainable Development Goals, recently included scabies.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the clinical profile and the impact of the different risk factors in scabietic children at Khartoum Teaching Hospital for Dermatology and Venereology, aiming to put scabies in focus and exploring definitive measures for its control, clarifying the impact of placing scabies control as an achievable and valuable objective in Sudan.
Subjects and methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out among all dermatological cases of children that attend Khartoum Teaching Hospital for Dermatology and Venereology in the period from November 2018 to January 2019, among them 144 cases were diagnosed as scabies according to the hospital protocol. one hundred children aged 1-16 years, were selected according to calculating sample size and applying inclusion criteria. Data were collected by using pre-designed questionnaire and then analyzed by  computer using SPSS.
Results: The overall prevalence of scabies was 6.98%. The highest percent of cases were recorded in the age group between 6-10 years 41 (41%), 80 cases (80.0%) were presented with nocturnal itching. The site of lesion was in the finger webs in 92 (92.0%) children,70 cases (70.0%) had burrow lesions, 97 (97.0%) children had 1-10 family members, 96 (96.0%) children were sharing bed, animals in house were found with18 (18.0%) children.
Conclusion: Scabies prevalence in children in Sudan is high compared to other developing countries. Comprehensive control strategies are urgently needed. Improvement of socioeconomic conditions, implementing appropriate educational programs and surveillance system for applying preventive measures, rapid diagnosis and definitive treatment of scabietic cases are necessary in order to reduce the overall prevalence of scabies.