Comorbidity of psychiatric and dermatologic disorders with skin picking disorder and validation of the Skin Picking Scale Revised for Brazilian Portuguese

Objective: Skin picking disorder (SPD) affects up to 5.4% of the population. Less than half of patients are correctly diagnosed and treated. Developing tools to recognize SPD can help professionals and patients alike. This trial aimed to validate the Skin Picking Scale-Revised (SPS-R) for the Brazilian population and assess the psychiatric and dermatological comorbidities of patients with SPD. Methods: Brazilians with a primary diagnosis of SPD, 18 years or older, were recruited from a community sample by media advertising and evaluated by a dermatologist and a psychiatrist. Self-report instruments were used: SPS-R, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to evaluate the SPS-R, and Pearson correlation (r) was used to assess the relationship between instruments. Results: Overall, 124 patients were included. The SPS-R demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's coefficient = 0.84). CFA found a good fit to the model according to all indices (χ2 = 29.67; degrees of freedom [df] = 19; p = 0.056; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.067; comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.969; non-normed fit index [NNFI] = 0.954). SPS-R correlated with DLQI (r = 0.73), GAD-7 (r = 0.51), and PHQ-9 (r = 0.43). The sample had a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, mainly generalized anxiety disorder (62.1%) and current (32.3%) and past (37.1%) depressive episodes. Conclusion: The Brazilian version of the SPS-R presents good psychometric properties. The severity of SPD is related to severity of depression, anxiety, and impairment in quality of life. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04731389

Skin picking treatment with the Rothbaum cognitive behavioral therapy protocol: a randomized clinical trial

Introduction: Although behavioral therapies can effectively treat skin picking disorder (SPD), there is no standardized treatment for improving SPD and its comorbidities and there is no group intervention option. This trial aimed to adapt the Rothbaum trichotillomania protocol to SPD (Study 1) and test its efficacy for treating SPD and comorbidities in individual and group formats (Study 2). Methods: The adapted protocol was applied to 16 SPD patients, who were allocated to group or individual treatment (Study 1). Afterwards, 54 patients were randomly allocated to treatment in an individual (n=27) or group format (n=27) (Study 2). In both studies, assessments of SPD severity, anxiety, depression, clinical status and skin lesion severity were performed at baseline and the endpoint. Results: The adapted protocol was feasible in both treatment modalities (Study 1) and led to high SPD remission rates (individual 63%; group 52%), with no significant difference between intervention types (p = 0.4) (Study 2). SPD, anxiety, and depression symptoms and objective patient lesion measures improved after treatment. There was large effect size for SPD symptom improvement in both treatment types (Cohen's d: group = 0.88; individual = 1.15) (Study 2). Conclusion: The adapted Rothbaum protocol was effective for SPD remission, comorbidities, and skin lesions, both in individual and group formats. Clinical trial registration: NCT03182478

Trastorno de excoriación en una mujer con panarteritis nudosa. Reporte de caso / Skin Picking Disorder in a Woman with Polyarteritis Nodosa. Case Report

RESUMEN Introducción: El trastorno por excoriación está incluido en el DSM - 5 dentro de la categoría Recibido el 4 de abril de 2017 de trastorno obsesivo compulsivo y trastornos relacionados. Se define como la urgencia Aceptado el 18 de marzo de 2018 de tocar, rascar, frotar, restregar, friccionar, apretar, morder o excavar la piel de forma On-line el 7 de mayo de 2018 recurrente hasta producirse lesiones cutáneas. Es un trastorno poco frecuente (1.4 - 5.4% de la población) y se presenta principalmente en mujeres. Presentación de caso: Se presenta el caso de una mujer de 31 años quien fue valorada por dermatología y ortopedia por presencia de lesiones ulceradas e infectadas en miembros inferiores, junto con otras lesiones superficiales por rascado en tórax, brazos, antebrazos, espalda y cabeza; además reportando síntomas ansiosos, razón por la cual es valorada por el servicio de Psiquiatría de enlace Discusión: El rascado cutáneo, conducta normal en los mamíferos, cobra valor patológico desde el punto de vista psiquiátrico al ser un acto repetitivo y persistente, como la conducta que se presenta en el trastorno por excoriación. Dada la relación descrita con el espectro obsesivo - compulsivo, se recomienda el uso de inhibidores selectivos de la recaptación de serotonina y la terapia cognitivo conductual.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Excoriation (skin picking) disorder is included in the DSM-5 in the obsessive compulsive and related disorders category. It is defined as the recurrent urge to touch, scratch, scrape, scrub, rub, squeeze, bite or dig in the skin, leading to skin lesions. It is a rare disorder (1.4-5.4% of the population) and occurs mainly in women. Case report: this article reports the case of a 31-year-old female patient, initially assessed by dermatology and orthopaedics for the presence of infected ulcerated lesions on her lower limbs, with other superficial lesions from scratching on her chest, arms, forearms, back and head. The patient also reported symptoms of anxiety, so was assessed by consultation-liaison psychiatry. Discussion: skin picking, normal behaviour in mammals, becomes pathological from a psychiatric point of view when it is repetitive and persistent, as in the case of excoriation disorder. In view of the reported relationship with the obsessive-compulsive spectrum, use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive behavioural therapy are recommended.