Abstract: 【Abstract】 Objective To summarize clinical characteristics of and treatment experience with patients with critical illnesses in a dermatological ward. Methods All patients with serious or life-threatening conditions，who were hospitalized at the dermatological ward of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from July 9, 2011 to December 31, 2020, were collected, and their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic characteristics, disease types and proportions, main complications, causes of serious or life-threatening conditions, important treatment measures and outcomes were summarized, and causes of death were also analyzed and discussed. Results A total of 1 057 patients with critical illnesses were collected, with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶1.11, and 64.81% of them aged 18 to 65 years. The types of diseases mainly included drug eruptions （332 cases）, connective tissue diseases （226 cases）, bullous skin diseases （104 cases）, psoriasis （57 cases）, erythroderma （45 cases）, infectious skin diseases （67 cases）, etc. Among them, psoriasis （39 cases） and erythroderma （32 cases） mostly occurred in males, and connective tissue diseases （168 cases） mostly occurred in females. Common complications mainly involved infections, important organ damage or dysfunction, hypoalbuminemia, and fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. A total of 94 patients were diagnosed with life-threatening conditions, which were found to be mainly caused by primary skin diseases, hematologic abnormalities, respiratory failure, nervous system abnormalities, renal failure, sepsis, fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances, etc. During the management of critical illnesses, 43 patients were treated with high-dose glucocorticoid pulse therapy, 264 were treated with gamma-globulin pulse therapy, 355 were transfused with other blood products, and 34 received special therapies such as hemoperfusion/immunoadsorption therapy, plasma exchange, dialysis, artificial liver support therapy; 42 patients were transferred to the intensive care unit （ICU）, 12 were transferred to the department of surgery for operations, and 12 were transferred to the department of obstetrics and gynecology for delivery or induction of labor. After treatment, 989 patients （93.57%） achieved improvement and were discharged. A total of 14 patients （1.32%） died, of whom 7 died of secondary sepsis, 2 died of severe pulmonary infections, 2 died of asphyxia caused by respiratory mucosa shedding-induced airway obstruction, the other 3 died of gastrointestinal hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage and neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, respectively. Conclusions Critical cases in the dermatological ward mainly suffered from serious skin diseases such as severe drug eruptions, connective tissue diseases and bullous skin diseases, as well as complications such as severe underlying diseases, severe organ dysfunction, sepsis or severe fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. In terms of treatment, it is of critical significance to make a clear diagnosis and assess the severity of disease as early as possible, monitor and prevent possible complications, and to consult with specialists in relevant disciplines in time.

Key words: Skin disease, Critical illness, Drug eruptions, Connective tissue diseases, Skin diseases, vesiculobullous, Infection, Cause of death, Coexisting diseases, Complications, Treatment measures