The importance of the dermatologist at the hospital.

Skin lesions are often underestimated when patients are hospitalized in clinical or surgical areas. We made weekly visits to Mario Covas State Hospital of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for 35 weeks. Patients answered a questionnaire and underwent skin examination. The skin lesions were photographed. Of the 359 patients evaluated, a total of 1098 dermatological conditions were diagnosed. The most prevalent skin conditions included photodermatosis, neoplasms, vasculopathies and onychopathies. The growing number of dermatological diseases in hospitals justifies the active and constant presence of the dermatologist in a multidisciplinary team, thereby improving prognosis and patients' quality of life.