Overview of dermatologic tele-expertise in areas of low physician density: A retrospective study at Le Mans general hospital.

BACKGROUND: In areas of low physician density, especially as regards dermatologists in France, there is an increasing interest in tele-expertise. This is particularly the case in the Sarthe department, where the number of physicians continues to decline and access to care was further limited by the COVID 19 epidemic. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively collected data from tele-expertise requests submitted to Le Mans General Hospital by general practitioners via a dedicated platform between May 6, 2019, and April 9, 2021. RESULTS: Six hundred and forty three requests relating to 90 different diagnoses were recorded during this period. One hundred and thirty four patients (20% of requests) were invited to attend a face-to-face consultation within an average of 29 days. DISCUSSION: Through the use of tele-expertise at Le Mans Genreal Hospital it was possible to introduce a means of tackling the problem of the lack of dermatologists in the Sarthe department. Rapid responses enabled the number of consultation requests to be reduced, leading to fewer population displacements in the context of the present pandemic. CONCLUSION: These initial results are encouraging and confirm that tele-expertise seems a satisfactory option to optimize access to care for populations in areas of low physician density.

Impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of psoriasis with systemic therapies in France: results from the PSOBIOTEQ cohort

Background The nature of the COVID-19 pandemic led to concerns among patients and physicians about the potential impact of immunosuppressive treatments for chronic diseases such as psoriasis on the risk of severe COVID-19. Objectives To describe treatment modifications and determine the incidence of COVID-19 infection among psoriasis patients during the first wave of the pandemic, and identify the factors associated with these events. Methods Data from PSOBIOTEQ cohort relating to the first COVID-19 wave in France (March to June, 2020), as well as a patient-centred COVID-19 questionnaire, were used to evaluate the impact of lockdown on changes (discontinuations, delays or reductions) in systemic therapies, and to determine the incidence of COVID-19 cases among these patients. Logistic regression models were used to assess associated factors. Results Among the 1751 respondents (89.3%), 282 patients (16.9%) changed their systemic treatment for psoriasis, with 46.0% of these changes being initiated by the patients themselves. Patients were more likely to experience psoriasis flare-ups during the first wave if they changed their treatment during this period (58.7% vs 14.4%;P<0.0001). Changes to systemic therapies were less frequent among patients with cardiovascular diseases (P<0.001), and those aged ≥65 years (P=0.02). Overall, 45 patients (2.9%) reported having COVID-19, and eight (17.8%) required hospitalization. Risk factors for COVID-19 infection were close contact with a positive case (P<0.001) and living in a region with a high incidence of COVID-19 (P<0.001). Factors associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 were avoiding seeing a physician (P=0.002), systematically wearing a mask during outings (P=0.011) and being a current smoker (P=0.046). Conclusions Discontinuation of systemic psoriasis treatments during the first COVID-19 wave (16.9%) – mainly decided by patients themselves (46.0%) – was associated with a higher incidence of disease flares (58.7% vs 14.4%). This observation and factors associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 highlight the need to maintain and adapt patient–physician communication during health crises according to patient profiles, with the aim of avoiding unnecessary treatment discontinuations and ensuring that patients are informed about the risk of infection and the importance of complying with hygiene rules.

Impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of psoriasis with systemic therapies in France: Results from the PSOBIOTEQ cohort.

BACKGROUND: The nature of the COVID-19 pandemic led to concerns among patients and physicians about the potential impact of immunosuppressive treatments for chronic diseases such as psoriasis on the risk of severe COVID-19. OBJECTIVES: To describe treatment modifications and determine the incidence of COVID-19 infection among psoriasis patients during the first wave of the pandemic, and identify the factors associated with these events. METHODS: Data from PSOBIOTEQ cohort relating to the first COVID-19 wave in France (March to June, 2020), as well as a patient-centred COVID-19 questionnaire, were used to evaluate the impact of lockdown on changes (discontinuations, delays or reductions) in systemic therapies, and to determine the incidence of COVID-19 cases among these patients. Logistic regression models were used to assess associated factors. RESULTS: Among the 1751 respondents (89.3%), 282 patients (16.9%) changed their systemic treatment for psoriasis, with 46.0% of these changes being initiated by the patients themselves. Patients were more likely to experience psoriasis flare-ups during the first wave if they changed their treatment during this period (58.7% vs 14.4%; P < 0.0001). Changes to systemic therapies were less frequent among patients with cardiovascular diseases (P < 0.001), and those aged ≥ 65 years (P = 0.02). Overall, 45 patients (2.9%) reported having COVID-19, and eight (17.8%) required hospitalization. Risk factors for COVID-19 infection were close contact with a positive case (P < 0.001) and living in a region with a high incidence of COVID-19 (P < 0.001). Factors associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 were avoiding seeing a physician (P = 0.002), systematically wearing a mask during outings (P = 0.011) and being a current smoker (P = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Discontinuation of systemic psoriasis treatments during the first COVID-19 wave (16.9%) - mainly decided by patients themselves (46.0%) - was associated with a higher incidence of disease flares (58.7% vs 14.4%). This observation and factors associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 highlight the need to maintain and adapt patient-physician communication during health crises according to patient profiles, with the aim of avoiding unnecessary treatment discontinuations and ensuring that patients are informed about the risk of infection and the importance of complying with hygiene rules.

La pandémie COVID-19 est associée à des mélanomes diagnostiqués à un stade plus avancé

Introduction: Les effets de la pandémie COVID-19 sur la prise en charge du mélanome sont diversement appréciés selon les études;certaines montrent des formes plus agressives après le début du confinement, d'autres montrent un impact minime. Nous avons analysé l'effet de la 1re vague de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur les nouveaux cas de mélanomes diagnostiqués en France au sein du consortium RIC-Mel (Réseau pour la recherche et l'investigation clinique sur le mélanome). Matériel et méthodes: Tous les nouveaux cas de mélanomes diagnostiqués un an avant le début du 1er confinement (17/03/2019–16/03/2020) ont été comparés à ceux diagnostiqués après (11/05/2020–10/05/2021). Les critères analysés étaient l'âge au diagnostic, le sexe, l'épaisseur du mélanome (mm), la présence d'ulcération, le type de mélanome, la présence de métastase répartie en 4 stades (8e classification AJCC). Résultats: Au total, 2137 nouveaux cas de mélanomes étaient inclus sur 28 centres : 1119 avant le confinement et 1018 après. L'âge moyen (64 avant, 63 après), la répartition en tranche d'âge, le sexe-ratio (1,14 avant, 0,98 après) étaient similaires dans ces 2 périodes. En post-confinement, les mélanomes primitifs tendaient à être plus épais, étaient plus souvent ulcérés (22,3 % pré vs 25,4 % post). Les patients présentaient une maladie à un stade plus avancé après le confinement : moins de stade 0, plus de stade 2 et 3. Discussion: Notre étude montre un effet du confinement sur le stade des mélanomes au moment de leur prise en charge initiale. Comme plusieurs études l'ont montré, les stades 0 étaient moins fréquents. L'épaisseur des mélanomes invasifs n'était pas significativement augmentée contrairement aux résultats d'études de plus faibles effectifs ou monocentriques. Deux grandes études multicentriques retrouvent des résultats contradictoires : l'une européenne (4033 patients) montre un Breslow plus épais tandis que l'autre nationale (20 434 patients) ne révèle pas d'effet significatif. Contrairement à ces 2 études basées sur des registres histologiques, notre analyse est clinique, incluant l'ensemble des patients tous stades confondus. Ainsi, les stade 2 et 3 après le confinement étaient plus fréquents en accord avec la plupart des publications. En conclusion, notre étude nationale montre que la pandémie de COVID-19, à partir du 1er confinement, a eu un impact péjoratif conduisant au diagnostic de mélanome à un stade plus avancé.