Abstract: 【Abstract】 Objective To compare clinical characteristics of sporotrichosis between children and adults in a third-grade class-A hospital in Jilin province during 2010—2019. Methods Clinical data were collected from 3 124 patients with sporotrichosis in Department of Dermatology, The First Hospital of Jilin University from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2019, and retrospectively analyzed. There were 911 children aged < 18 years and 2 213 adults aged ≥ 18 years. All the patients were confirmedly diagnosed with sporotrichosis by fungal culture of skin lesions. Chi-square test was used to compare clinical characteristics of sporotrichosis between children and adults. Results Among the 911 children, the male-to-female ratio was 1.4 ∶1; 720 （79.0%） developed sporotrichosis in cold seasons （January -March and October-December）, 790 （86.7%） were diagnosed with fixed cutaneous sporotrichosis, and 835 （91.7%） presented with skin lesions on the face. Among the 2 213 adult patients, the male-to-female ratio was 1∶2.5; 1 450 （65.5%） developed sporotrichosis in cold seasons, 1 523 （68.8%） were diagnosed with fixed cutaneous sporotrichosis; skin lesions mostly occurred on the extremities （1 090 cases, 49.3%） and face （975 cases, 44.1%）. The proportion of patients developing sporotrichosis in cold seasons was significantly higher in children than in adults （χ2 = 55.55, P < 0.001）, and the proportion of fixed cutaneous sporotrichosis was also significantly higher in children than in adults （χ2 = 107.55, P < 0.001）. In addition, the distribution of skin lesions significantly differed between the children and adults （χ2 = 599.91, P < 0.001）. Conclusion The epidemiological characteristics and clinical manifestations of sporotrichosis markedly differed between children and adults.

Key words: Sporotrichosis, Child, Adult, Epidemiological characteristics, Clinical manifestations