Assessment of Fear of COVID-19 in Pateints Attending the Dermatology Outpatient Department: A Cross-sectional Study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The entire world has been affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and experts all over the world are working hard to combat this global pandemic. There is a panic among people with resultant psychosocial consequences. Aim: To evaluate the fear factor of COVID-19 using Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) among two groups of patients, one with dermatological diseases managed with immunomodulators and second with dermatological diseases not requiring immunosuppression and also to counsel both the groups regarding the course of their disease and tailoring their visits to the hospital accordingly. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 16th January 2021 to 30th April 2021 in the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Dermatology of a tertiary care centre, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. Consecutive 52 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, with dermatological diseases requiring long-term immunosuppressive therapy and 49 patients with dermatological diseases or cosmetic concerns not requiring immunosuppressive treatment were enrolled for the study. The obtained data was analysed using Epi Info software version 7.2.4.0. results: A total number of 101 patients were enrolled in the study with a male to female ratio of 1.71. Mean age of patients was 41 years (range 18-71 years). Among them, 52 (51.49%) had chronic diseases with relapsing and remitting course requiring immunomodulator drugs and 49 (48.51%) had either cosmetic concerns or diseases not requiring immunomodulation. Seventeen (16.83%) of the total patients had other co-morbidites like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic kidney disease or cardiac diseases. Out of all the study participants, 3 (2.9%) had severe fear, 16 (15.8%) had moderate fear, 36 (35.6%) had mild fear and 46 (45.5%) had no fear of COVID-19. conclusion: During this pandemic time, patients need to be counselled regarding the course and management of their diseases and stress factor should also be addressed.