Quality of life in children with skin disease: A Spanish sample.

INTRODUCTION: The impact of skin diseases on quality of life varies widely, and some can have an impact similar to that of asthma or cystic fibrosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, observational and descriptive study with the aim of describing the degree to which quality of life was affected in paediatric patients managed in a dermatology clinic by means of the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI). RESULTS: In our study, the skin disease with the greatest impact on quality of life was atopic dermatitis, chiefly on account of symptoms like pruritus and insomnia. It was followed by acne, mainly due to the associated negative feelings (shame, sadness, etc.). Quality of life in patients with viral warts and molluscum contagiosum was mostly affected by the treatment, chiefly based on cryotherapy. Most patients with nevi or café-au-lait spots did not have a decreased quality of life, although up to one third of them had negative feelings in relation to their skin disease. DISCUSSION: Atopic dermatitis was the common skin disease that caused the greatest impairment in quality of life in our sample, although other diseases also had an impact on different dimensions of quality of life. We ought to underscore the recommendation to use less painful treatments than cryotherapy for viral warts and molluscum contagiosum, as the impairment in quality of life in paediatric patients with these conditions was mainly due to the treatment.

Fear of cancer recurrence in patients with non-metastatic melanoma: Spanish validation and disease-related factors.

INTRODUCTION: It is essential for clinicians to understand the phenomenon of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) in order to understand the psychological impact it has on patients with melanoma. OBJECTIVES: To validate an FCR questionnaire in Spanish for patients with non-metastatic melanoma and to describe the clinical and demographic variables associated with FCR in these patients. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with non-metastatic melanoma were selected. The questionnaire was translated and adapted to Spanish following international guidelines. The internal consistency, construct validity, and temporal stability of the questionnaire were analysed using Cronbach's alpha, confirmatory factor analysis, and test-retest reliability, respectively. Following this, the correlation between FCR scores and the study variables was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 123 patients were included in the study. The translated and adapted questionnaire showed high reliability (overall Cronbach's alpha 0.834), temporal stability (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.8), and unidimensionality. The mean FCR score was 16.1 ± 6.7. The highest FCR scores were observed in women and young patients (p < 0.01). Patients with a personal history of cancer, facial melanoma, or skin graft reconstruction also obtained a high FCR score (p < 0.05). No differences were found between FCR and other tumour characteristics, such as the Breslow index or the time since diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This validated questionnaire is suitable for evaluating FCR. We also identified factors that tend to increase FCR scores, thus allowing clinicians to identify patients at risk and start preventive measures.

Development of a Prediction Model for Patients at Risk of Incidental Skin Cancer: A Multicentre Prospective Study.

In the absence of guidelines recommending routine total-body skin examination, patient concern remains the main factor in seeking consultation regarding suspicion of skin cancer. This study explores gaps in patients' understanding of malignant skin lesions, through the factors associated with incidental skin cancer. Included patients had a confirmed histological diagnosis of basal cell carci-noma, squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma. Tumour characteristics, patient demographics and other risk factors related to the development of skin cancer were obtained from each participant. The main measure was incidental skin cancer detection, using both binary logistic regression and Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) algorithm. Of the total tumours, 26.6% were detected incidentally. The following variables: male sex, living alone, long-axis diameter, tumour location, symptoms and time of disease evolution were independent predictors of incidental skin cancer. According to the CHAID algorithm, the most significant risk factor for incidental skin cancer was the absence of symptoms at diagnosis.

Factors associated with high Altmetric Attention Score in dermatology research.

BACKGROUND: Alternative metrics are emerging scores to assess the impact of research beyond the academic environment. OBJECTIVE: To analyse whether a correlation exists between manuscript characteristics and alternative citation metrics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This bibliometric analysis included original articles published in the five journals with the highest impact factors during 2019. We extracted the following characteristics from each record: journal, publication month, title, number of authors, type of institution, type of publication, research topic, number of references, financial support, free/open access status and literature citations. The main measure was the identification of variables of higher social attention (measured by the Altmetric Attention Score ≥25) using binary logistic regression. Model performance was assessed by the change in the area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: A total of 840 manuscripts were included. The Altmetric scores across all five journals ranged from 0 to 465 (mean 12.51 ± 33.7; median 3). The most prevalent topic was skin cancer, and the study design was clinical science. The scientific journal (P < 0.001), the presence of conflicts of interest (OR 2.2 [95%CI 1.3-3.7]; P = 0.002) and open access status OR 3.2 [95%CI 1.6-6.7]; P = 0.002) were found as independent predictors of high Altmetric scores. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests an article´s social recognition may be dependent on some manuscript characteristics, thus providing useful information on the dissemination of dermatology research to the general public.

"Fake news" in dermatology. Results from an observational, cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Social networks have become a means for disseminating information on health-related matters. OBJECTIVE: Describe the characteristics and analyze the accuracy of the dermatology content that is most often shared on the most popular social networks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The content most often shared on social networks (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Reddit) between March 2019 and March 2020 was analyzed using the keywords: acne, alopecia/hair loss, psoriasis, eczema, melanoma, skin cancer, rash, and rosacea. The total number of interactions, skin disease, topic, and origin was collected from each of the records. The content was analyzed and was categorized as precise, confusing, or imprecise based on the scientific evidence available. RESULTS: A total of 385 websites were included. About 44.7% of the shared content was rated as imprecise, 20% as confusing, and 35.3% as precise. The records classified as imprecise obtained a higher mean number of interactions (P < 0.05). No differences were found in terms of the level of certainty and the dermatosis studied, whereas they did exist in relation to their topic and origin (P < 0.001). Of the contents classified as imprecise, the most frequent topic and origin were "alternative medicines" and "individual opinions, articles not affiliated with health institutions, nor peer reviewed," respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the contents often shared on social networks are below acceptable quality standards. Strategies are needed to discredit imprecise information and promote the dissemination of evidence-based dermatology information.