Reliability and validity of mobile teledermatology in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients in Botswana: a pilot study.

IMPORTANCE: Mobile teledermatology may increase access to care. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether mobile teledermatology in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients in Gaborone, Botswana, was reliable and produced valid assessments compared with face-to-face dermatologic consultations. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study conducted in outpatient clinics and public inpatient settings in Botswana for 76 HIV-positive patients 18 years and older with a skin or mucosal condition that had not been evaluated by a dermatologist. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: We calculated the κ coefficient for diagnosis, diagnostic category, and management for test-retest and interrater reliability. We also determined sensitivity and specificity for each diagnosis. RESULTS: The κ coefficient for test-retest reliability ranged from 0.47 (95% CI, 0.35 to 0.59) to 0.78 (0.67 to 0.88) for the primary diagnosis, 0.29 (0.18 to 0.42) to 0.73 (0.61 to 0.84) for diagnostic category, and 0.17 (-0.01 to 0.36) to 0.54 (0.38 to 0.70) for management. The κ coefficient for interrater reliability ranged from 0.41 (95% CI, 0.31 to 0.52) to 0.51 (0.41 to 0.61) for the primary diagnosis, 0.22 (0.14 to 0.31) to 0.43 (0.34 to 0.53) for diagnostic category, and 0.08 (0.02 to 0.15) to 0.12 (0.01 to 0.23) for management. Sensitivity and specificity for the top 10 diagnoses varied from 0 to 0.88 and 0.84 to 1.00, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Our results suggest that while the use of mobile teledermatology technology in HIV-positive patients in Botswana has significant potential for improving access to care, additional work is needed to improve the reliability and validity of this technology on a larger scale in this population.

Increased risk of diabetes mellitus and likelihood of receiving diabetes mellitus treatment in patients with psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of incident diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients with psoriasis and to evaluate DM treatment patterns among patients with psoriasis and incident DM. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING: United Kingdom-based electronic medical records. PATIENTS: We matched 108 132 patients with psoriasis aged 18 to 90 years with 430 716 unexposed patients based on practice and time of visit. For our nested study, only patients who developed incident DM during our study time were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incident DM and adjusted risk of pharmacotherapy among those with incident DM. RESULTS: The fully adjusted hazard ratios (95% CIs) for incident DM were 1.14 (95% CI, 1.10-1.18), 1.11 (95% CI, 1.07-1.15), and 1.46 (95% CI, 1.30-1.65) in the overall, mild, and severe psoriasis groups, respectively. Among those with incident DM and severe psoriasis, the adjusted risk for receiving DM pharmacotherapy was 1.55 (95% CI, 1.15-2.10). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that psoriasis is an independent risk factor for the development of type 2 DM in a dose-dependent manner, and that patients with severe psoriasis who develop DM are more likely to receive systemic diabetic therapies in comparison with patients with DM but without psoriasis.

Psoriasis and cardiovascular risk: strength in numbers.

In this issue, Wakkee and colleagues report a self-described exploratory cohort study and conclude that psoriasis may not be an independent risk factor for ischemic heart disease (IHD) hospitalization and that there is only a slight and borderline increased risk of ischemic heart disease among psoriasis patients. This negative result should be interpreted in light of the study's limitations, the complex relationship among levels of psoriasis severity, patient age, and cardiovascular (CV) risk, and the context of the rapidly growing literature.

Patients with severe psoriasis are at increased risk of cardiovascular mortality: cohort study using the General Practice Research Database.

AIMS: Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory T-helper cell-1/17 mediated skin disease. Recent studies suggest that psoriasis, particularly if severe, may be an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. We conducted a cohort study using the General Practice Research Database to determine if severe psoriasis patients have an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: Severe psoriasis was defined as patients who received a psoriasis diagnosis and systemic therapy consistent with severe psoriasis (n = 3603). Up to four unexposed patients without psoriasis were selected from the same practices and start dates for each psoriasis patient (n = 14 330). For every death, the cause was determined by review of the electronic medical record. Severe psoriasis was an independent risk factor for CV mortality (HR 1.57; 95% CI 1.26, 1.96) when adjusting for age, sex, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia. Overall, severe psoriasis patients experienced one extra CV death per 283 patients per year, even when adjusting for major CV risk factors. The relative risk of CV mortality was modified by age. For example, the RR of CV death for a 40-year-old and 60-year-old with severe psoriasis was 2.69 (1.45, 4.99) and 1.92 (1.41, 2.62), respectively. The findings were robust to multiple sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: Patients with severe psoriasis have an increased risk of CV mortality that is independent of traditional CV risk factors. Additional studies are needed to determine the mechanism of this association and the impact that control of psoriasis has on CV risk.

Lyme disease as a cause of acropapular dermatitis of childhood.

Acropapular dermatitis of childhood is a symmetric self-limited papulovesicular exanthem that classically occurs on the cheeks, extensor extremities, and buttocks in young children. The eruption of acropapular dermatitis of childhood represents a reaction to a variety of infections usually of viral origin. We present a child with typical findings of acropapular dermatitis of childhood whose serologic workup revealed an acute Lyme infection.

The risk of stroke in patients with psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic Th-1 and Th-17 inflammatory disease. Chronic inflammation has also been associated with atherosclerosis and thrombosis. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of stroke in patients with psoriasis. We conducted a population-based cohort study of patients seen by general practitioners participating in the General Practice Research Database in the United Kingdom, 1987-2002. Mild psoriasis was defined as any patient with a diagnostic code of psoriasis, but no history of systemic therapy. Severe psoriasis was defined as any patient with a diagnostic code of psoriasis and a history of systemic therapy consistent with severe psoriasis. The unexposed (control) population was composed of patients with no history of a psoriasis diagnostic code. When adjusting for major risk factors for stroke, both mild (hazard ratio (HR) 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-1.1) and severe (1.43, 95% CI 1.1-1.9) psoriasis were independent risk factors for stroke. The excess risk of stroke attributable to psoriasis in patients with mild and severe disease was 1 in 4,115 per year and 1 in 530 per year, respectively. Patients with psoriasis, particularly if severe, have an increased risk of stroke that is not explained by major stroke risk factors identified in routine medical care.

Psoriasis and metabolic disease: epidemiology and pathophysiology.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The scientific literature linking psoriasis to metabolic syndrome, and its components, as well as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction has rapidly expanded. Increasingly, epidemiological studies are establishing the directionality of these associations and psoriasis' role as an independent risk factor in developing these outcomes. RECENT FINDINGS: Psoriasis is associated with metabolic syndrome, and its components, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Obesity has been shown to be an independent risk factor for the development of psoriasis, and is also associated with more severe psoriasis. Psoriasis is associated with diabetes, coronary artery disease, and an increased risk for myocardial infarction independent of traditional risk factors for these disorders. These phenotypically diverse conditions share similar pathologic changes such as chronic inflammation, angiogenesis, oxidative stress, and selected susceptibility genes and loci. SUMMARY: The broad literature linking psoriasis to metabolic disorders has led to changes in standard of care recommendations for patients with psoriasis. In particular, practitioners are encouraged to screen psoriasis patients, especially when disease is severe, for metabolic disorders and cardiovascular risk factors and institute appropriate prevention strategies. Additional studies investigating the role of psoriasis activity and severity as an independent risk factor for developing metabolic disorders, atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction and the role of psoriasis treatment in altering the risk of developing these serious morbidities are urgently needed.