By Allison Sit
Research from the University of Missouri found its Dermatology ECHO project improved accuracy of diagnosis. ECHO allows primary care providers and other clinicians to connect with dermatologists via videoconferencing whereby the dermatologists review de-identified patient cases. Of 524 cases brought to the Dermatology ECHO program since 2015, less than 40% of initial diagnoses were accurate, and in only 16% of cases did dermatologists concur with the primary care provider’s initial treatment plan. The Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare recently published the research.
“Dermatology professionals need to be innovative and adaptive to expand access to life-saving treatment in underserved areas,” said senior author Karen Edison, MD, senior medical director of the Missouri Telehealth Network, Show-Me ECHO and the Center for Health Policy, in a news release. “Dermatology ECHO provides expert care at the right time and place for more patients. We hope our findings encourage more widespread adoption of and participation in innovative strategies, including ECHO and tele-dermatology, which remain underutilized.”
An international collaborative study found a median of 6% of children and adolescents have prevalent symptoms of eczema. The research, published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy, found 0.6% of children and 1.1% of adolescents reported symptoms of severe eczema. The results come from an analysis of data from 14 countries involving more than 74,000 adolescents 13 and 14 years old and nearly 48,000 children 6 and 7 years old.
Investigators estimated an average increase over 27 years in the prevalence of current eczema symptoms of 0.98% per decade in adolescents and 1.21% per decade in children. There was substantial variation in changes in eczema prevalence over time by income and region.
“Global research efforts are needed to address the burden related to eczema with continued international efforts to identify strategies to prevent the onset of eczema and to better manage the impact on individuals, their families, and health service,” said corresponding author Sinéad Langan, PhD, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in a news release.
LaRoche-Posay is supporting the Skin of Color and Pigmentary Disorders Research Fellowship at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California (USC). The fellowship is open to students between their third and fourth years of medical school, and fellows conduct research related to ethnic skin conditions and pigmentary disorders. The fellows also lead service-related initiatives aimed at supporting underserved communities, including DermRISES, which exposes inner city students to the sciences, medicine and dermatology, and Dermmunity, which aims to increase education about dermatologic health in underserved Los Angeles communities. The fellowship is part of the USC Skin of Color and Pigmentary Disorders Program created by Nada Elbuluk MD, MSc, FAAD, associate professor of clinical dermatology, with the support of Department Chair David Peng, MD, MPH.
“Not only will this research improve dermatologic care for people of color and health equity for all patients, but the fellowship also helps pave the way for a medical student to become an incredible dermatologist” said Tyler Steele, VP, Medical & Media Relations, La Roche-Posay, USA, in a news release.
