Prolonged Exposure Dermatosis: Reporting High Incidence of an Undiagnosed Facial Dermatosis on a Winter Wilderness Expedition.

OBJECTIVE: Previously unclassified inflammatory skin lesions referred to as sun bumps have been observed throughout the year on participants of wilderness trips; however, the underlying cause and diagnosis remain unclear. The purpose of this prospective observational study was to document the incidence, characteristics, and risk factors associated with these skin lesions as they occurred on a winter wilderness expedition. METHODS: For this study, the lesions were defined as pruritic or erythematous skin lesions occurring while in the wilderness. Seventy-four participants in a wilderness ski touring course in Wyoming fully completed a 44-question written survey concerning occurrence and risk factors for these lesions. Weather information and photographs were collected. RESULTS: Twenty-six percent of participants had similar lesions. The lesions were described as edematous pale papules and plaques with erosions and crusts on an erythematous background. The face was involved in 90% of affected persons. Lesions occurred after an average of 8.7 days in the wilderness and resolved 10.6 days later. Skin that was less prone to sunburn was associated with a decreased incidence (odds ratio 0.44). No association could be found between lesion incidence and history of polymorphous light eruption, sun exposure, ambient temperature, affected contacts, sex, or body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the lesions were common among study participants but occurred only after prolonged exposure to wilderness conditions. It was not possible to classify the skin condition as an example of any known diagnosis. We propose the name "prolonged exposure dermatosis" for this condition until further studies better define its etiology, prevention, and treatment.

Dermatological diagnostic acumen improves with use of a simple telemedicine system for underserved areas of South Africa.

OBJECTIVE: Telemedicine holds promise as a tool for improving the delivery of specialty care, especially in underserved regions, including those in South Africa. However, data that demonstrate the extent of its sustainable benefits to referring providers are currently insufficient. This study investigates whether utilization of a teledermatology network enhances the diagnostic acumen of primary care providers (PCPs) in underserved areas of South Africa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A longitudinal descriptive pilot study was conducted after establishing a telemedicine network linking University of Cape Town dermatology consultants to six providers from five underserved primary care sites using store-and-forward technology between October 2004 and January 2007. Of 120 total referrals, trend analysis was performed using 72 sets of patient histories, digital images, and corresponding consultant responses to evaluate the diagnostic concordance between six PCPs and teleconsultants over 12 consecutive referrals. RESULTS: Strong positive Spearman rank-order correlations were observed between the number of referrals sent per PCP and proportion of primary diagnostic agreement with teledermatologists, rs=0.86 (p <0.001). The mean primary diagnostic concordance trend that started at 13% for the first four referrals increased nearly fourfold after referring as few as nine patients to the network. CONCLUSIONS: If a simple and inexpensive teledermatology solution is carefully implemented in a resource-limited setting, an improvement of PCP diagnostic acumen can be achieved with a relatively small number of referrals. This educational benefit to referring PCPs could be sustainable and would ultimately enhance the quality of dermatological care in these underserved regions.

Developing the Native People for Cancer Control Telehealth Network.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop a telehealth network to deliver postdiagnosis cancer care clinical services and education to American Indian and Alaska Native patients, their families, and their healthcare providers. We also sought to identify the challenges and opportunities of implementing such a telehealth-based application for this rural and underserved population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We followed a participatory formative evaluation approach to engage all stakeholders in the telehealth network design and implementation. This approach allowed us to identify and address technical and infrastructure barriers, lack of previous experience with telehealth, and political, legal, and historical challenges. RESULTS: Between September 2006 and August 2009, nine tribal clinics in Washington and 26 clinical sites in Alaska had participated in the telehealth network activities. Network programming included cancer education presentations, case conferences, and cancer survivor support groups. Twenty-seven cancer education presentations were held, with a total provider attendance of 369. Forty-four case conferences were held, with a total of 129 cases discussed. In total, 513 patient encounters took place. Keys to success included gaining provider and community acceptance, working closely with respected tribal members, understanding tribal sovereignty and governance, and working in partnership with cultural liaisons. CONCLUSION: The telehealth network exceeded expectations in terms of the number of participating sites and the number of patients served. Following a participatory formative evaluation approach contributed to the success of this telehealth network and demonstrated the importance of community involvement in all stages of telehealth system design and implementation.

Kaposi varicelliform eruption (eczema herpeticum).

A 35-year-old woman with a history of atopic diathesis presented to the emergency department with 2 weeks of widespread facial vesiculopustules and eroded vesicles. HSV-1 was found on viral culture and direct fluorescent antibody testing. She was diagnosed with eczema herpeticum, an uncommon and potentially life-threatening viral infection that arises in areas of pre-existing dermatosis. Antiviral treatment for eczema herpeticum is very effective, and should be instituted without delay to avoid significant morbidity and mortality.

25 Years of HIV/AIDS: a dermatologist epidemic watcher's perspective.

Though history will mark June 1981 as the birthday of the AIDS pandemic, the first true case of the syndrome and its cause originated years before in West-Central Africa. History also highlights the irony that the discovery of AIDS, the detection of its cause, and the development of drugs for its treatment, all occurred far from its origin, and now, 25 years later, the greatest burden of this disease is where it is believed to have started.

Approach to the Patient with a Suspected Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reaction.

CADRs are common and generally have a mild, self-resolving course with minimal associated morbidity and mortality. However, subsets of CARDs are more severe, require intervention, and have significant risk of associated morbidity and mortality. For this reason, it is crucial that the clinician recognize signs and symptoms worrisome for a more severe CARD so that appropriate triage, work-up, and treatment are initiated. In all CADRs the most important first step is identification and withdrawal of the culprit medications.

A picture is worth more than a thousand words: enhancement of a pre-exam telephone consultation in dermatology with digital images.

OBJECTIVE: In addition to the assessment and the management of patients with skin diseases, a considerable portion of dermatology residency involves examining clinical images and generating differential diagnoses from these images. This training, though helpful for recognizing manifestations of rare disorders, goes unused by most practicing dermatologists after certification. In contrast, dermatology residents learn and master verbal descriptions of skin diseases and continue to use this skill throughout their careers. However, problems arise when a dermatologist is not available and a non-dermatologist attempts to verbally describe a skin condition. An accurate description of a cutaneous disorder can facilitate effective triage management of a patient when a dermatologist is not available. Unfortunately, an inaccurate description by the referring provider can lead to diagnostic bias and ineffective, or even harmful, initial treatment. In recent years, digital photography has facilitated the electronic transfer of clinical images over distances. However, despite the promise that this technique shows in providing teledermatologic services to specialty-underserved areas and the availability of low-cost digital cameras, telephone consultation is still the standard of care when a dermatologist is not available. The purpose of this study is to compare the reliability of dermatologic consultations that use the telephone with that of dermatologic consultations that use both the telephone and digital images. DESCRIPTION: After patient approval, an acute care provider randomly assigned patients with skin disorders of unclear etiology to two groups, with and without digital images. The acute care provider then performed an exam and took the patient's history. Telephone data, with or without digital images, were then presented to the consulting dermatologist, who formulated a pre-physical exam differential diagnosis and treatment plan. The consulting dermatologist immediately examined the patient in person and refined the diagnosis and management. The confidence in diagnosis, both before and after the in-person exam, was compared in the patient group with digital images and in the patient group without digital images using a five-point scale (1 = no confidence, 5 = most confident). DISCUSSION: The consulting dermatologist evaluated 12 patients (six with digital images and six without digital images). In the patient group with digital images, the consulting dermatologist's confidence in diagnosis varied very little from before to after the in-person exam (from no change in five cases to a one-point increase in the sixth case). In the patient group without digital images, the consulting dermatologist's confidence level increased significantly from before to after the in-person exam. This led to therapy changes for three of the six patients in the patient group without digital images, versus two of the six patients in the patient group with digital images. This study indicates that an acute care provider's verbal description of a skin condition may be less reliable compared with a provider's verbal description combined with digital images. Telephone-only descriptions may also lead to management discrepancies more frequently than telephone descriptions with digital images. This has at least two implications for medical education: (1) need for support of formal teaching of the language of dermatology to non-dermatologists and (2) justification of the time spent in two-dimensional clinical image interpretation by dermatology residents in light of digital image technology.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia presenting with urticarial plaques and hypereosinophilia in a child.

Our report describes a previously healthy 10-year-old female who was seen for urticarial plaques and mild loss of appetite. An initial laboratory workup revealed an elevated leukocyte count of 30,000/microL and a peripheral eosinophil count of 22,500/microL. A skin biopsy showed a marked hypersensitivity tissue response with abundant eosinophils. Further investigation of her peripheral eosinophilia uncovered Giardia lamblia in a stool sample. Despite treatment with the anti-parasitic agent furazolidone, the patient's urticarial plaques, leukocyte count, and peripheral eosinophil count remained unchanged. A bone marrow biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL with hypereosinophilia (ALL/Eo) represents a rare and distinct subset of ALL, with more than 30 cases documented in the literature. Our discussion summarizes the clinical aspects of this disease and reviews the reported dermatological manifestations of ALL/Eo.