The Extent of Misconceptions, Negative Prejudices, and Discriminatory Behaviors Toward Psoriasis Patients: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study Among the Population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Background Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects around 2% of the population. The lives of psoriasis patients are greatly impacted by stigma and social exclusion, regardless of the severity of the condition. This is the first study of its kind to be conducted in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess peoples' psoriasis-related misconceptions, negative prejudice, and discriminatory behaviors. Methodology A self-administered Google Forms survey was distributed between January and February 2023. The survey was conducted among residents of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia who were enrolled randomly via social media. We aimed to investigate their perception and awareness related to psoriasis, as well as how varying educational levels, age groups, and genders affected these variables. Results In total, 803 individuals participated in the survey. Results showed that 19.9% of the participants did not know about psoriasis. Only 5.1% of respondents stated that they were well knowledgeable about psoriasis. Moreover, psoriasis was more frequently perceived as a communicable disease by people in the age group of 18-29 years (p = 0.000). Surprisingly, only 43.5% of the participants reported that they would shake hands with someone with psoriasis without hesitation. Additionally, 40.7% of the participants were aware that psoriasis requires lifelong treatment. Moreover, the belief that psoriasis does not require lifelong therapy was more prevalent among university graduates (p = 0.000). Conclusions This study found that the residents of Jeddah need further education on skin disorders, in general, and psoriasis, in particular. Future studies should be conducted utilizing various approaches, with a greater emphasis on certain groups of people who engage physically with psoriasis patients.

Assessing the Ability of Non-dermatology Physicians to Recognize Urgent Skin Diseases.

Introduction Many patients present to the emergency department with skin conditions that are not true dermatologic emergencies. Urgent skin conditions are uncommon. Because these conditions are rare, they can be sometimes challenging to diagnose. Few works of literature discussed the accuracy of non-dermatologists' initial judgment on dermatologic conditions concluding that non-dermatologists misdiagnose many common and uncommon skin conditions. Because the study was never done in our region, we aim to conduct an online assessment using a questionnaire assessing the ability of non-dermatologists to recognize urgent skin diseases at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. Non-dermatologist physicians were contacted through their verified emails, provided by the secretaries of each department and the academic affairs unit. The questionnaire consisted of two main sections, the first section covered demographics, specialty, and academic level. The second part had eight questions, each containing a brief case scenario about an urgent dermatological condition with a picture of the condition attached. Participants were required to answer the questions and assess on a scale from one to 10 how confident they were about their answers. The responses were collected and analyzed. Results Out of all 161 responses, this study included 93 male physicians (57.8%) and 68 female physicians (42.2%). The mean age in the study was approximately 45 ± 3 years. This study showed that the percentage of accuracy by non-dermatologists in diagnosing urgent skin diseases given the typical presentation of the condition was (61.33%); nevertheless, the percentage decreased when it was recalculated in relation to the full level of confidence to (25.3%). Herpes zoster appeared to be the most recognizable urgent skin disease, and Pemphigus vulgaris was the least recognizable one. Conclusion This study shows that it is difficult for physicians to recognize some urgent skin diseases, which affects offering the optimum health care for the patients. Moreover, more dermatology-focused courses are needed to strengthen the knowledge about dermatological diseases.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Mask-Induced Acne (Maskne) in the General Population of Jeddah During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a newly emerged coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) infectious disease pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019. The first documented case in Saudi Arabia was on March 2, 2020. Soon after, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global pandemic. The ministry of health in Saudi Arabia mandated the wearing of facial masks for the general population, among other methods of protection from the spread of this highly contagious virus. It was observed that the continuous and prolonged wearing of facial masks has led to the development of multiple skin complications and facial dermatosis, including new-onset acne as well as flares of pre-existing acne in the general population and especially healthcare workers. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic from January to September 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered electronic survey was distributed to residents of Jeddah city using multiple social media platforms to assess the prevalence and the factors attributed to the development of mask-induced acne. RESULT: A total of 630 participants were enrolled. 470 (74.6%) were females and 160 (25.4%) were males, and the predominant age group was 18-30 years old, 374 (59.4%). The majority of participants wore a mask for five to seven days per week, 272 (43.2%), and for less than four hours per day, 378 (60%). The surgical masks were the most frequently used masks, with 597 (94.8%). Three hundred and seventy-nine (60.2%) participants had no previous skin disease on their faces. Only 251 (39.8%) of the participants had pre-existing skin diseases affecting the face. Of those, acne was the most frequent skin condition, 217 (86.4%), followed by atopic dermatitis, 12 (4.8%). Ninety-seven (23.5%) participants without a prior history of acne reported the new onset of acne during the pandemic with the use of a face mask or face shield. Thirty people (59.9%) who had acne on their faces before the pandemic said that their acne got worse when they wore face masks or face shields for a long time during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a significant association between the new onset of acne or worsening of pre-existing acne and the frequent and prolonged usage of facial masks. Thus, certain measures should be applied to prevent the development of new or worsening of prior acne while maintaining effective protection using facial masks.