Effects of total-body digital photography on cancer worry in patients with atypical mole syndrome.

Importance: Cancer worry about developing melanoma in at-risk patients may affect one's quality of life and adherence to screening. Little is known about melanoma-related worry in patients with atypical mole syndrome (AMS).

Objectives: To quantify levels and elucidate predictors of worry related to developing melanoma in patients with AMS and to determine whether total-body digital photography (TBDP) in pigmented lesion clinics (PLCs) reduces worry.

Acitretin for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Background: Bexarotene is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved retinoid for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and is associated with a relatively high frequency of adverse effects. Acitretin has anecdotally been reported to be effective for CTCL.

Objective: We sought to determine the effectiveness and tolerability of acitretin as primary or adjuvant therapy for CTCL.

Future directions in dermatology quality of life measures.

Within the last few decades, outcomes research, and in particular quality of life (QoL) outcomes research, has become integrated into clinical and research practices. QoL outcomes are important to dermatology, because many diseases carry significant psychosocial burdens and morbidity from appearance and symptoms with few cases of mortality. In this article, the authors discuss the future directions in QoL.

Clinical meaning in skin-specific quality of life instruments: a comparison of the Dermatology Life Quality Index and Skindex banding systems.

Clinical meaning can be assigned to scores of health status measures by using a variety of approaches. The anchor-based approach involves determining the difference on a quality of life (QOL) scale that corresponds to a self-reported small but important change on a global scale given concomitantly, which serves as an independent anchor. This article focuses on the anchor-based banding approach and reviews methods to assign clinical meaning to QOL measures, specifically the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Skindex.

Preference-based measures in dermatology: an overview of utilities and willingness to pay.

In this overview of preference-based measures, utilities and willingness to pay (WTP) are discussed as measures relevant to dermatology for capturing the burden of skin diseases. An overview is provided of the concepts of utilities and WTP and their importance in decision making. Specific examples of elicitation methods for capturing utility and WTP measures are provided.

Overview of health status quality-of-life measures.

The concept of quality of life (QOL) is becoming increasingly important in medicine, particularly in dermatology where many cutaneous diseases have the potential to affect the quality rather than the length of life. There is increasing interest in devising methodology to accurately measure the impact of disease on QOL for use in clinical practice, research studies, and economic analyses. The question of which dermatologic QOL instruments to choose inevitably arises.

The impact of pruritus on quality of life: the skin equivalent of pain.

Objective: To compare the impact of chronic pruritus and chronic pain on quality of life (QoL) using directly elicited health utility scores.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Convenience sample of patients attending the Emory Dermatology Clinic, Emory Spine Center, and Emory Center for Pain Management, Atlanta, Georgia.

Vitamin D levels, dietary intake, and photoprotective behaviors among patients with skin cancer.

Photoprotection against ultraviolet light is an important part of our armamentarium against actinically derived skin cancers. However, there has been concern that adherence to photoprotection may lead to low vitamin D status, leading to negative effects on patients' health. In this work we discuss previous findings in this area, which do not give a clear picture as to the relationship between vitamin D levels and photoprotection measures, as well as research performed by the authors, who did not detect a relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and adherence to photoprotection measures in subjects with skin cancer, as assessed by the use of sunscreen, clothing, hats, sunglasses, and umbrellas/shade through the Sun Protection Habits Index.

Utilization and rationale for the implementation of total body (digital) photography as an adjunct screening measure for melanoma.

The primary objective of our study was to update the prevalence of total body photography (TBP) utilization and the rationale for its implementation as an adjunctive screening measure by academic dermatologists across the USA, and investigate the emergence of total body digital photography (TBDP). Our secondary objective was to further examine how TBP/TBDP is being incorporated into the dermatology screening examination in academic pigmented lesion clinics. A questionnaire was mailed to 113 dermatology departments across the USA.

Randomized comparison of virtual microscopy and traditional glass microscopy in diagnostic accuracy among dermatology and pathology residents.

Virtual microscopy is being used in medical schools to teach histology and pathology. It is also being used in resident education, in-training examinations (dermatology), and certification examinations (pathology). There are, however, few studies comparing its diagnostic accuracy and acceptability compared with traditional glass slides.

Annual direct and indirect health care costs of chronic idiopathic urticaria: a cost analysis of 50 nonimmunosuppressed patients.

Objective: To estimate annual direct and indirect health care costs in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) managed with conventional therapies.

Design: A cost analysis consisting of a survey-guided and retrospective medical record review of direct and indirect health care costs from a societal perspective in patients with CIU.

Setting: The Johns Hopkins University allergy and dermatology ambulatory clinics.