Medical ethical standards in dermatology: an analytical study of knowledge, attitudes and practices.

BACKGROUND: Dermatology practice has not been ethically justified at all times. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to find out dermatologists' knowledge about medical ethics, their attitudes towards regulatory measures and their practices, and to study the different factors influencing the knowledge, the attitude and the practices of dermatologists. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional comparative study conducted among 214 dermatologists, from five Academic Universities and from participants in two conferences. A 54 items structured anonymous questionnaire was designed to describe the demographical characteristics of the study group as well as their knowledge, attitude and practices regarding the medical ethics standards in clinical and research settings. Five scoring indices were estimated regarding knowledge, attitude and practice. Inferential statistics were used to test differences between groups as indicated. The Student's t-test and analysis of variance were carried out for quantitative variables. The chi-squared test was conducted for qualitative variables. The results were considered statistically significant at a P > 0.05. RESULTS: Analysis of the possible factors having impact on the overall scores revealed that the highest knowledge scores were among dermatologists who practice in an academic setting plus an additional place; however, this difference was statistically non-significant (P = 0.060). Female dermatologists showed a higher attitude score compared to males (P = 0.028). The highest significant attitude score (P = 0.019) regarding clinical practice was recorded among those practicing cosmetic dermatology. The different studied groups of dermatologists revealed a significant impact on the attitude score (P = 0.049), and the evidence-practice score (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Ethical practices will improve the quality and integrity of dermatology research.

Adolescent abuse in a community sample in Beni Suef, Egypt: prevalence and risk factors.

Adolescent abuse was studied in 555 school students (mean age 15.6 +/- 1.5 years) selected by multistage random sampling in Beni Suef in 1998. Each student received a general physical examination and a pre-coded questionnaire to identify determinants of abuse. Prevalence of abuse was 36.6%. Emotional, physical, sexual and combined abuse prevalence was 12.3%, 7.6%, 7.0% and 9.7% respectively. Significant predictors of sexual abuse were hyperactive child, disabled child, disinterested mother, low birth order child or wasted child. For physical abuse, significant predictors were maternal disinterest, maternal education and injuries. Significant predictors of emotional abuse were overcrowding, disease and mistreatment by a teacher. Violent behaviour was reported for more than 20% of the emotionally and the sexually abused.

Adolescent abuse in a community sample in Beni Suef, Egypt: prevalence and risk factors

Adolescent abuse was studied in 555 school students [mean age 15.6 +/- 1.5 years] selected by multistage random sampling in Beni Suef in 1998. Each student received a general physical examination and a pre-coded questionnaire to identify determinants of abuse. Prevalence of abuse was 36.6%. Emotional, physical, sexual and combined abuse prevalence was 12.3%, 7.6%, 7.0% and 9.7% respectively. Significant predictors of sexual abuse were hyperactive child, disabled child, disinterested mother, low birth order child or wasted child. For physical abuse, significant predictors were maternal disinterest, maternal education and injuries. Significant predictors of emotional abuse were overcrowding, disease and mistreatment by a teacher. Violent behaviour was reported for more than 20% of the emotionally and the sexually abused

An epidemiologic study of perianal dermatitis among children in Egypt.

Perianal dermatitis is a common problem occurring among infants and children. Streptococci, particularly beta-hemolytic group A organisms, play a major role in its causation. An epidemiologic association between perianal dermatitis caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococci in some patients and pharyngeal colonization with the same organisms seems to exist. A similar relation is also true for other organisms, including non-group A beta-hemolytic streptococci and Staphylococcus aureus. This was the main conclusion of a hospital-based study performed on 150 children with perianal dermatitis. All patients were subjected to a questionnaire, clinical examination, two perianal swabs, and two throat swabs. The bacteriologic examination of the perianal swabs revealed the presence of beta-hemolytic streptococci in 35.3% of the cases, half of which were of the group A beta-hemolytic strain (17.3%) and half of which were non-group A (18%). Throat swabs revealed the presence of beta-hemolytic streptococci in 44% of cases, half of which were found to belong to group A (21.3%) and half to non-group A (22.7%). Among patients with perianal dermatitis caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococci, 53.8% had associated pharyngeal colonization by the same organism. S. aureus was isolated from the perianal skin in five patients (3.4%); in four of whom the same organism also grew in cultures from throat swabs. A relatively good association between pharyngeal colonization by beta-hemolytic streptococci and Staphylococci and the presence of perianal dermatitis caused by the same organisms was demonstrated using the Kappa test of agreement (K = 0.4).