The Impact of teledermatology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teledermatology has been widely adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic as virtual patient care promotes social distancing and decreases viral exposure risk. As teledermatology has become more prominent during this period, it is essential to assess whether virtual visits allow for adequate patient care. To assess perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of teledermatology, a survey was sent to academic dermatologists through the Association of Professors of Dermatology (APD) listserv. Of the physicians surveyed, 94% reported their departments had implemented teledermatology during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority (64%) described teledermatology as an effective tool for patient care because of improved access to care, decreased risk of COVID-19 exposure, and convenience. Frequently cited limitations of teledermatology were image quality, technical difficulties, and inability to perform a comprehensive skin examination. Thirty-seven percent of respondents reported teledermatology as a contributor to their professional burnout. Although teledermatology has become more prevalent as a result of the pandemic, its role moving forward is uncertain given its limitations.

Social media use in residency recruitment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To investigate the extent to which dermatology programs use social media to connect with applicants, we conducted a search of all 140 residency programs on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Our search revealed 74 (53%) Instagram, 21 (15%) Facebook, 20 (14%) Twitter, and four (3%) YouTube accounts for dermatology programs, with the number of Instagram accounts increasing five-fold from the end of 2019 to present. Our results demonstrate that conditions created during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic accelerated dermatology residency programs' acceptance of social media, particularly Instagram, as a means to communicate and share information with applicants.

Attendee Survey and Practical Appraisal of a Telegram®-Based Dermatology Congress During the COVID-19 Confinement. / Congreso virtual de dermatología realizado a través de Telegram® durante el confinamiento de la COVID-19: organización y evaluación.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak introduced dramatic changes in all our lives, daily practice, and medical conferences. In search of a tool to spread dermatologic knowledge during confinement, an online medical meeting was held on April 25th to 26th, 2020. In this study, we aimed to assess the characteristics, opinion and satisfaction of the attendees to a free-of-charge online congress. Secondarily, we intended to explain how this meeting was prepared. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Online survey administered to the attendees to an online congress organised via the Telegram® Messenger App. Its organisation and planning, which needed no financial support and was done by volunteer organisers, moderators and speakers, is described step by step. RESULTS: The satisfaction of both speakers and attendees was very high. All participants considered that this format had a great present and future, and most of them rated it as superior to regular face-to-face meetings. Female gender and predominantly private practice favoured this opinion. DISCUSSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of most scientific gatherings. This has been seen by some authors as an excellent opportunity, encouraging medical societies and organisations to lead the change to virtual meetings. Although confinement did not allow real contact, our online meeting showed it was possible to ensure interaction and participation between attendees, moderators and speakers. Dermatologists enjoyed some dermatologic science, even despite the extraordinary circumstances disrupting their daily clinical practice. Most of them felt they were participating in something new and compelling that many felt superior to traditional meetings.

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.