Different Aspects of Acne in Patients Attending the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil

Background and objective: Acne is a common skin disease of adolescence. It is caused by inflammation of the pilosebaceous units, characterized by comedones, papules, pustules, inflamed nodules and it may result in scarring. This study was performed to define the different aspects of acne in patients attending the department of dermatology and venereology in Rizgary Teaching Hospital. Methods: This study is a descriptive case- series hospital- based study, conducted on 200 patients with acne attending the department of dermatology and venereology in Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil. Results: The number of female patients with acne was 145 and male patients were 55. Acne of moderate severity was the commonest type, it was found in 57% and 64% of the patients had mixed types of lesions. Seborrhea was present in 84% of patients. Hirsutism was present in 44% of female patients and pre-menstrual flare-up was found in 73% of females. A significant relation was found between gender and degree of severity of acne. Also a significant relation was found between seborrhea and the acne severity. Conclusion: This study showed that acne of moderate severity was the commonest type. Females made the majority of our acne patients. Multiple exacerbating factors were found to be contributing.