Clinical photography: Attitudes among dental students in two dental institutions

Factors important in the correct evaluation of oral high-risk lesions during the telehealth era

BACKGROUND

Considering that early detection of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) improves prognosis and clinical examination is the primary detection method, we identified factors related to the clinical evaluation of oral mucosal lesions. Due to the growing role of telehealth, our study was based on clinical image evaluation.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Oral medicine specialists and dental students evaluated six images of benign, potentially malignant, or SCC lesions (18 images in total). We analyzed the role of personal factors of the examiners and the visual pathological features of the lesion upon which the participants based their evaluation.

RESULTS

One hundred thirty-three subjects participated. Half of the benign images were correctly evaluated. On average 1.2 (±SD1.3) cancer pictures were recognized correctly and 3.66 (±SD1.42) images were considered potentially malignant. Potentially malignant lesions were correctly evaluated at an average of 4.08 (±SD1.48) images. For cancer and potentially malignant lesion images, there were significantly better results among clinicians with the worst results from the fourth-year students. Student results correlated significantly with years of study, number of weeks spent in the oral medicine clinic, and interest in oral pathology. Consideration of lesion irregularity yielded a correct diagnosis, whereas wrong answers were based on color changes. Lesion size and margins were considered equally important.

CONCLUSIONS

Using clinical images as part of the diagnostic process provides good results, though increased clinical experience for graduates and undergraduates may be necessary to improve accuracy. Therefore, emphasizing the important visual parameters of malignancy may be valuable in the current telehealth era.

Clinical photography: attitudes of practitioners specialized in oral mucosal diseases

Introduction: Clinical photography is an important tool for clinical practice, training and research frequently used across medical specialties. It may provide snapshot images of evolving clinical situations. The aim of this work was to record its contribution in the management of oral mucosal diseases and, to identify the methods of using this tool by carrying out a survey with practitioners specialized in oral pathologies. This allowed us to make recommendations for appropriate use of this tool. Material and methods: An online anonymous questionnaire was sent via email, to practitioners who were member of two associations of French specialists. Results: 51 oral medicine specialists completed the survey. Among them, 48 (94%) used photography in their daily practice. Lack of time or interest was the reasons given by the 3 practitioners who did not use photography. Pictures were mostly taken with smartphones, which provide precise and accurate images, and stored on personal or professional computers. Sharing of images was performed mostly by secured professional or personal email addresses. Consent was obtained verbally in most cases. Conclusion: Photography could be a valuable asset in the practice of oral medicine. However, recommendations for the safety of patient personal data are not always followed.

Study of patients' satisfaction toward photographing their skin lesions for educational purposes

BACKGROUND

Medical images have been widely used for various aims, especially for the educational purposes. Patient confidentiality and consent should be deemed crucial. In this study, we sought to assess patients' satisfaction with taking medical photos of their skin lesions and giving their physicians consent to use them for educational purposes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This multi-method study included quantitative and qualitative phases and was performed from April to November 2018 in the Dermatology Department of Shiraz Faghihi Hospital in South Iran. Demographic information was analyzed using the descriptive statistics. To resolve the simultaneous effect of demographic variables on patient satisfaction, we conducted linear regression. All the tests were analyzed at the 0.05 significance level.

RESULTS

In this study, all the patients except one (99.5%) preferred that only a physician who had a direct role in their care can access their digital photos. Of 200 patients, 134 patients (62.33%) preferred the utilization of hospital cameras in photographing their skin lesions (P = 0.002). On the other hand, 131 patients (49.81%) did not gave consent about using a personal phone camera for photographing their skin lesions (P = 0.001). In the qualitative phase, two major themes (trusting attending physician and paying attention to patient confidentiality) and five sub-themes (considering their physicians as professional people who always do the right thing, allowing physicians to use their images for educational purposes, covering patient's face, using hospital cameras, and obtaining informed consent from patients) were derived from qualitative semi-structured interviews.

CONCLUSION

The results showed that there is a need for developing international and national photography guidelines in the era of technology development.