Clinicians' perspectives of shared care of psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis between rheumatology and dermatology: an interview study.

OBJECTIVE: Shared care between rheumatologists and dermatologists is advocated for patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, but care provided by rheumatologists and dermatologists is often siloed, leading to inconsistencies in patient care and outcomes. This study aimed to describe rheumatologists' and dermatologists' perspectives on shared care. METHODS: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 rheumatologists and 12 dermatologists across 27 centers in Australia. Transcripts were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Five themes were identified: uncertainties in disciplinary tensions (lacking expertise to make diagnosis, hesitation managing outside of scope, doubting screening tools, defaulting to own disciplinary priorities, hampered by lack of evidence), working in fragmented care (frustration with working in silos, striving to coordinate with primary care, persevering despite inequities in access to care, overwhelmed by managing comorbidities, under-resourced for complexity), building trusting relationships (establishing a culture of collaboration, seeking reliable cross-specialty help, depending on unique skills), prioritizing efficiency (minimizing burden for patients, avoiding resource overuse, deferring to pragmatic decisions), and strengthened by integrated care models (improving the timeliness and accuracy of care, centering on patient goals and understanding, enhancing cross-specialty partnerships, providing opportunities for education and training). CONCLUSIONS: Rheumatologists and dermatologists endeavor to provide comprehensive care to their patients in disjointed healthcare settings but are hampered by a lack of training and a sense of feeling overburdened in the management of comorbidities. Interdisciplinary models are perceived to improve the care of patients but are limited by financial barriers to implementation and concerns about wasting health resources and improperly burdening patients. Key Points • Rheumatologists and dermatologists perceive that shared care models improve the care for their patients with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis by improving the timeliness and accuracy of management, making the patient the center of care, and enhancing shared care relationships between specialties. • Screening tools to detect psoriatic arthritis may be under-utilized by dermatologists due to doubt about the accuracy of instruments and competing priorities in time-limited consultations. • Management of comorbid disease is challenging for rheumatologists and dermatologists due to a need to prioritize their specialty area and a sense of feeling overburdened while working in fragmented healthcare systems.

School accreditation scheme reduces childhood obesity in Hong Kong.

Childhood obesity is an increasing threat to the health of primary school students in Hong Kong. Obesity results from energy excess from food relative to energy expenditure through physical activity. In Hong Kong, a whole day primary schooling policy has been implemented since 1993 and today most primary school students have their lunch on campus and some also purchase snacks and drinks from school tuck shops or vending machines. The EatSmart School Accreditation Scheme (ESAS) aiming at combating childhood obesity was launched in 2009/2010. Professional (health promotion, dietary, programme, etc.) support is provided to help schools formulate policies, introduce structures and implement measures to help students develop the habit of healthy eating. The aim of this study is to investigate the change of childhood obesity (including overweight) rates over time among schools awarded with ESAS accreditation. Seven-year retrospective data on obesity status were obtained for the period 2007/2008-2013/2014 (number of students = 113,322, number of measurements = 314,746) from all 105 ESAS-accredited schools. Before schools were geared up for the accreditation scheme obesity rates were fairly stable (slope test p > 0.05) among their student population ranging from 23.2% to 21.9%, whereas the rates dropped significantly (slope test p < 0.05) from 21.9% to 19.3% after intervention. For ESAS-accredited schools, there was an average annual reduction of 0.49% point in obesity rate which was 0.18% point higher than that of 0.31% point among non-ESAS-accredited schools. These results show that schools achieving ESAS accreditation are associated with a bigger improvement in the student obesity problem.

Erythema nodosum in an adolescent patient with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome.

Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) is a monogenetic auto-inflammatory disorder with systemic manifestations. Innate immune system aberrance is seen in both CAPS and erythema nodosum and this case may point to a previously unknown association. In pediatric patients with EN and systemic features, the possibility of underlying CAPS should be considered.

Perioperative Hemoglobin Trajectory in Adult Cardiac Surgical Patients.

Preoperative anemia and nadir hemoglobin (Hb) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) have been identified as significant risk factors for blood transfusion during cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to confirm the association between preoperative anemia, perioperative fluid management, and blood transfusion. In addition, the proportion of elective cardiac surgery patients presenting for surgery with anemia was identified to examine whether the opportunity exists for timely diagnosis and intervention. Data from referral until hospital discharge were comprehensively reviewed over a 12-month period for all nonemergency cardiac surgical patients operated on in our institution. Of the 342 patients identified, elective cases were referred a median of 35 days before preoperative clinic and operated on a median of 14 days subsequently. Subacute cases had a median of 3 days from referral to surgery. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for anemia, 24.2% of elective and 29.6% of subacute patients were anemic. Blood transfusion was administered to 46.2% of patients during their admission. Transfusion was more likely in patients who were female (odds ratio [OR]: 2.45, 95%confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-4.70), had a low body mass index (BMI) (OR: .89, 95% CI: .84-.94), preoperative anemia (OR: 5.15, 95% CI: 2.59-10.24), or renal impairment (OR: 5.44, 95% CI: 2.42-12.22). Hemodilution minimization strategies reduced the Hb fall during CPB, but not transfusion rates. This study identifies a high prevalence of preoperative anemia with sufficient time for elective referrals to undergo appropriate diagnosis and interventions. It also confirms that low red cell mass (anemia and low BMI) and renal impairment are predictors of perioperative blood transfusion. Perfusion strategies to reduce hemodilution are effective at minimizing the intraoperative fall in Hb concentration but did not influence transfusion rate.

Ichthyosis follicularis, alopecia, and photophobia (IFAP) syndrome due to mutation of the gene MBTPS2 in a large Australian kindred.

Ichthyosis follicularis, alopecia and photophobia (IFAP) is a rare genodermatosis. Most patients have been men without significant family history. We present the largest kindred of IFAP reported to date in the medical literature clearly demonstrating X-linked inheritance. The gene defect has recently been mapped to Xp22.11-p22.13. Missense mutations of the gene, MBTPS2, which codes for an intramembrane zinc metalloprotease essential for cholesterol homeostasis and endoplasmic reticulum stress response, are associated with the IFAP phenotype in this kindred. We describe the clinical features and discuss the differential diagnosis of IFAP. Our proband has benefited from treatment with acitretin.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum-like lesions in association with thalassaemia major.

A 33-year-old woman with a background of thalassaemia major presented with a 3-month history of yellowish plaques on the back of her neck bilaterally and alterations in the texture of the skin in both axillae. Examination of these lesions showed yellowish cobblestone plaques and coalescing papules in both axillae. Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE)-like lesions were confirmed histopathologically. PXE-like lesions in association with thalassaemia major are an uncommon occurrence. Due to the increase in the survival rate of thalassaemia major patients on treatment, the development of these lesions is likely to increase. The histopathological manifestation of these lesions mimics that of hereditary PXE and is associated with severe vascular complications. This case highlights the importance of recognising this rare disorder and the role dermatologists have in establishing the diagnosis and advising on appropriate screening for complications.

Annular lesions in Kawasaki disease: a cause of confusion.

We present three cases of Kawasaki disease in which an annular eruption was the predominant cutaneous finding. The provisional diagnosis was Stevens-Johnson syndrome. However, the annular lesions were not typical of Stevens-Johnson syndrome: the lips were crusted without mucosal ulceration and the conjunctivitis was non-purulent without corneal erosions. Dermatologists are often involved in the initial assessment of this multisystem disease and should be aware of the variety of cutaneous manifestations, as rapid treatment is known to decrease morbidity and mortality.