Publications by authors named "Harkemanne E"

Granuloma annulare (GA) is a rare inflammatory granulomatous disorder and its subcutaneous forms are even more uncommon. Only a few familial cases of this condition have been reported in the literature. We report a case of familial subcutaneous GA in two siblings during childhood.

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Purpose: Low frequency EPR can noninvasively detect endogenous free radical melanin in melanocytic skin lesions and could potentially discriminate between benign atypical nevi and malignant melanoma lesions. We recently succeeded in demonstrating the ability of clinical EPR to noninvasively detect the endogenous melanin free radical in skin lesions of patients. However, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was extremely low warranting further research to boost the sensitivity of detection.

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Disseminated granuloma annulare (DGA) is an inflammatory skin disorder characterized by more than 10 erythematous, raised, ring-shaped plaques. Its treatment remains challenging, with conventional therapies showing variable efficacy. We report the case of a woman in her 50s with a 2-year history of DGA refractory to multiple treatments.

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The incidence of melanoma is continuously increasing over time. Melanoma is the most aggressive skin cancer, significantly reducing quality of life and survival rates of patients at advanced stages. Therefore, early diagnosis remains the key to change the prognosis of patients with melanoma.

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Background: Although primary care physicians (PCPs) play a key role in skin cancer screening, their skills in detecting malignant tumours is suboptimal.

Objectives: To determine whether a short dermoscopy e-learning course (4 h) in skin tumour diagnosis for PCPs is non-inferior to a long course (12 h) in selective triage of skin lesions. Secondly, to evaluate whether regular refresher training sessions are necessary to maintain the PCPs' skills in the medium term.

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Background: Primary care providers (PCPs) frequently address dermatologic concerns and perform skin examinations during clinical encounters. For PCPs who evaluate concerning skin lesions, dermoscopy (a noninvasive skin visualization technique) has been shown to increase the sensitivity for skin cancer diagnosis compared with unassisted clinical examinations. Because no formal consensus existed on the fundamental knowledge and skills that PCPs should have with respect to dermoscopy for skin cancer detection, the objective of this study was to develop an expert consensus statement on proficiency standards for PCPs learning or using dermoscopy.

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We explored the capability of low-frequency Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) to noninvasively detect melanin (a stable semiquinone free radical) in the human skin. As previous in vitro studies on biopsies suggested that the EPR signal from melanin was different when measured in skin melanomas or benign nevi, we conducted a prospective first-in-man clinical EPR study in patients with skin lesions suspicious of melanoma. EPR spectra were obtained using a spectrometer operating at 1 GHz, with a surface coil placed over the area of interest.

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General practitioners (GPs) are first-line clinicians in melanoma diagnosis. It is, therefore, important to ensure that they maintain their melanoma diagnostic accuracy over time. The objective of this study was to assess the short- and long-term competences of GPs after a training session in naked-eye melanoma diagnosis.

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Background: General practitioners (GPs) play a key role in early melanoma detection. To help GPs deal with suspicious skin lesions, melanoma diagnostic training programmes have been developed. However, it is unclear whether these programmes guarantee the acquisition of skills that will be applied by GPs in their daily clinical practice and maintained over time.

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To improve early melanoma detection, educational programs have been developed for general practitioners (GPs). This study aimed to determine whether the adjunct of teaching basic knowledge of pigmented skin lesions (PSL) to the training in melanoma diagnosis improves the GPs' diagnostic accuracy of melanoma. An interventional prospective study was conducted over a 3-month period where GPs attended a 2-h training course.

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General practitioners (GPs) are among the main actors involved in early melanoma diagnosis. However, melanoma diagnostic accuracy and management are reported to be insufficient among GPs in Europe. The primary aim of this observational prospective study was to shed light on melanoma diagnostic practices among French-speaking Belgian GPs.

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We report a case of benign lymphoplasmacytic plaque (LPP) in a child. These asymptomatic erythematous papulonodular lesions are an emerging clinicopathological entity. Herein, we describe a previously unreported site for LPP lesions, namely, the volar wrist and the distal ipsilateral palm.

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