[Mobile teledermatology in the treatment of chronic ulcers]. / Mobile Teledermatologie in der Behandlung chronischer Ulzera.
Hautarzt
; 70(5): 346-353, 2019 May.
Article
in De
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30937479
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Treatment of chronic ulcers is challenging. Advanced age, comorbidities, and a lack of medical knowledge of the caretaker's relatives are additional burdens. This study analyses if patient driven teledermatology could support them in the treatment of leg ulcers. Another purpose was the evaluation of savings in time and costs through telemedicine. PATIENTS ANDMETHODS:
Over a period of approximately 6 months, 50% of the patients were treated in an ambulant setting, the other 50% used mainly teledermatology. The tele-group used an application to upload their pictures, clinical results, and history. After examination, the expert sent back a treatment plan and a date for the next teleconsultation.RESULTS:
In all, 40 patients-20 in the tele-group and 20 in the control group-(18â¯women, 22â¯men; median age 75â¯years [39-88â¯years]) were included in the study. A total of 4 patients managed the teleconsultation on their own, while 3 patients were supported by relatives and 11 by nurses. Overall, 196 outpatient treatments took place in the control group (1.6 visits/patient/month), compared to 97 outpatient treatments (0.6 visits/patient/month) and 182 teledermatology consults (1.3/patient/month) in the tele-group. Six patients were only treated in the teledermatology setting.CONCLUSIONS:
Results from this study suggest that teledermatology is well qualified for the treatment of chronic ulcers; at the same time teledermatology is able to reduce the number of outpatient treatments, in some cases teleconsultation alone is possible. This decreases waiting time and travel costs for patients. Mobile teledermatology for treatment of ulcers was well-accepted among the patients.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Skin Diseases
/
Skin Ulcer
/
Telemedicine
/
Remote Consultation
/
Dermatology
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
Aspects:
Patient_preference
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
De
Journal:
Hautarzt
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article
Publication country:
ALEMANHA
/
ALEMANIA
/
DE
/
DEUSTCHLAND
/
GERMANY