Comparison of racial distribution of photodermatoses in USA academic dermatology clinics: A multicenter retrospective analysis of 1080 patients over a 10-year period.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies at single academic institutions have identified variations in the prevalence of photodermatoses among racial groups. The purpose of the study was to compare the distribution of photodermatoses between Whites and Blacks at four academic medical centers in the USA. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed at four institutions' general dermatology clinics using diagnoses consistent with the International Classification of Disease (ICD), Ninth and Tenth Revisions, codes related to photodermatoses between August 2006 and August 2016. A total of 9736 charts were manually reviewed and classified. Analyses were performed analyzing the frequency of photodermatoses between Whites and Blacks in the pooled data. RESULTS: There were 1,080 patients with photodermatoses identified. Statistically significant differences in the frequency of photodermatoses between Whites and Blacks were identified for polymorphous light eruption (more common in Blacks), photoallergic contact dermatitis, phototoxic drug eruption, phytophotodermatitis, porphyria, and solar urticaria (more common in Whites). The most commonly diagnosed photodermatoses were polymorphous light eruption (total 672), and photodermatitis not otherwise specified (total 189). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated significantly higher proportions of polymorphous light eruption in Blacks, and higher proportions of photoallergic contact dermatitis, phototoxic drug eruptions, phytophotodermatitis, porphyrias, and solar urticaria in Whites.

2015 Arte Poster Competition First Place Winner: Assessing the Correlation Between Patient Anxiety and Satisfaction for Mohs Surgery.

Skin cancer and the surgical treatment thereof have the potential to be sources of great anxiety for patients. Examination of patient satisfaction, anxiety, and contributing factors has the potential to provide information surgeons can use to implement practices that have an impact on patient anxiety and satisfaction regarding dermatologic surgery. This study used a prospective interview to catalog patients' anxiety and experiences before and during the surgical process. Our results indicate that several pre- and perioperative factors have the potential to decrease a patient's overall anxiety. Notably, 33% of surgical patients reported a decrease in anxiety from the time of diagnosis until the day of surgery. Factors that contributed to this included a call discussing the diagnosis and what to expect on the day of surgery as well as reading written material or searching the internet for more information regarding the procedure. Furthermore, a call from the physician compared to a call from a nurse or other team member showed a greater effect on decreasing anxiety. During the surgical procedure, our results highlight several factors that can decrease a patient's anxiety. Most notably, eating, watching TV, bringing a guest, and engaging in small talk with surgeon and staff during the procedure subjectively decreased patients' anxiety. In summary, our results suggest that patients respond to a variety of factors to reduce anxiety and that each patient derives relief from anxiety in different manners. Therefore, offering a spectrum of comforting or distracting activities during the Mohs procedure is ideal and may reduce the need for pharmacologic anxiolytics.