Improving the Management and Follow-up of Atopic Dermatitis: A Delphi Process Report of Consensus Between Hospital Dermatologists and Pharmacists

Managing atopic dermatitis, one of the most common dermatologic conditions, is often challenging. To establish consensus on recommendations for responding to various situations that arise when treating atopic dermatitis, a group of hospital pharmacists and dermatologists used the Delphi process. A scientific committee developed a Delphi survey with 2 blocks of questions to explore the group's views on 1) evaluating response to treatment in the patient with atopic dermatitis and 2) cooperation between the dermatology department and the hospital pharmacy service. The experts achieved an overall rate of consensus of 86% during the process. Conclusions were that dermatologists and hospital pharmacists must maintain good communication and coordinate their interventions to optimize the management of atopic dermatitis and patients' responses to treatment.

[Translated article] Improving the Management and Follow-up of Atopic Dermatitis: A Delphi Process Report of Consensus Between Hospital Dermatologists and Pharmacists

Managing atopic dermatitis, one of the most common dermatologic conditions, is often challenging. To establish consensus on recommendations for responding to various situations that arise when treating atopic dermatitis, a group of hospital pharmacists and dermatologists used the Delphi process. A scientific committee developed a Delphi survey with two blocks of questions to explore the group's views on (1) evaluating response to treatment in the patient with atopic dermatitis and (2) cooperation between the dermatology department and the hospital pharmacy service. The experts achieved an overall rate of consensus of 86% during the process. Conclusions were that dermatologists and hospital pharmacists must maintain good communication and coordinate their interventions to optimize the management of atopic dermatitis and patients' responses to treatment.

Classification of the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19: a rapid prospective nationwide consensus study in Spain with 375 cases

BACKGROUND

The cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease are poorly characterized.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 disease and to relate them to other clinical findings.

METHODS

We carried out a nationwide case collection survey of images and clinical data. Using a consensus we described five clinical patterns. We later described the association of these patterns with patient demographics, the timing in relation to symptoms of the disease, the severity and the prognosis.

RESULTS

The lesions may be classified as acral areas of erythema with vesicles or pustules (pseudo-chilblain) (19%), other vesicular eruptions (9%), urticarial lesions (19%), maculopapular eruptions (47%) and livedo or necrosis (6%). Vesicular eruptions appear early in the course of the disease (15% before other symptoms). The pseudo-chilblain pattern frequently appears late in the evolution of the COVID-19 disease (59% after other symptoms), while the rest tend to appear with other symptoms of COVID-19. The severity of COVID-19 shows a gradient from less severe disease in acral lesions to more severe in the latter groups. The results are similar for confirmed and suspected cases, in terms of both clinical and epidemiological findings. Alternative diagnoses are discussed but seem unlikely for the most specific patterns (pseudo-chilblain and vesicular).

CONCLUSIONS

We provide a description of the cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19 infection. These may help clinicians approach patients with the disease and recognize cases presenting with few symptoms. What is already known about this topic? Previous descriptions of cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 were case reports and mostly lacked illustrations. What does this study add? We describe a large, representative sample of patients with unexplained skin manifestations and a diagnosis of COVID-19, using a consensus method to define morphological patterns associated with COVID-19. We describe five clinical patterns associated with different patient demographics, timing and prognosis, and provide illustrations of these patterns to allow for easy recognition.

Algorithm for Treatment of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria with Omalizumab

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Pivotal trials with omalizumab for treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) are generally run over 12 to 24weeks. However, in clinical practice, many patients need longer treatment. In this article, we present an algorithm for treatment with omalizumab.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The consensus document we present is the result of a series of meetings by the CSU working group of "Xarxa d'Urticària Catalana i Balear" (XUrCB) at which data from the recent literature were presented, discussed, compared, and agreed upon.

RESULTS

Treatment with omalizumab should be initiated at the authorized dose, and is adjusted at 3-monthly intervals according to the Urticaria Activity Score Over 7days, the Urticaria Control Test, or both.

CONCLUSIONS

The algorithm proposed is designed to provide guidance on how to adjust omalizumab doses, how and when to discontinue the drug, and how to reintroduce it in cases of relapse.

Defining the actinic keratosis field: a literature review and discussion

Despite the chronic and increasingly prevalent nature of actinic keratosis (AK) and existing evidence supporting assessment of the entire cancerization field during clinical management, a standardized definition of the AK field to aid in the understanding and characterization of the disease is lacking. The objective of this review was to present and appraise the available evidence describing the AK cancerization field, with the aim of determining a precise definition of the AK field in terms of its molecular (including genetic and immunological), histological and clinical characteristics. Eight European dermatologists collaborated to conduct a review and expert appraisal of articles detailing the characteristics of the AK field. Articles published in English before August 2016 were identified using PubMed and independently selected for further assessment according to predefined preliminary inclusion and exclusion criteria. In addition, a retrospective audit of patients with AK was performed to define the AK field in clinical terms. A total of 32 review articles and 47 original research articles provided evidence of sun-induced molecular (including genetic and immunological) and histological skin changes in the sun-exposed area affected by AK. However, the available literature was deemed insufficient to inform a clinical definition of the AK field. During the retrospective audit, visible signs of sun damage in 40 patients with AK were assessed. Telangiectasia, atrophy and pigmentation disorders emerged as 'reliable or very reliable' indicators of AK field based on expert opinion, whereas 'sand paper' was deemed a 'moderately reliable' indicator. This literature review has revealed a significant gap of evidence to inform a clinical definition of the AK field. Therefore, the authors instead propose a clinical definition of field cancerization based on the identification of visible signs of sun damage that are reliable indicators of field cancerization based on expert opinion.