Background and objective: The results of studies support the hypothesis that scabies is on the rise in Spain. There are also concerns about the possible development of resistance to treatment and an increase in atypical presentations. The aims of this study were to describe the demographic and clinical profile of patients with scabies seen by dermatologists in Spain, to identify the possible emergence of atypical forms of scabies, and to explore the frequency of treatment failures and associated risk factors. Methods: We conducted an observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study of data collected prospectively in April and May 2023 using the CLINI-AEDVp platform created by the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV). Results: Participating dermatologists from 31 hospitals in 15 of Spain's autonomous communities recorded 186 cases of active scabies (51% in women) during the study period. A diagnostic certainty level of A, B or C as per the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies Consensus Criteria was required for diagnosis. Overall, 92% of patients had typical scabies and 66% had already been treated with a scabicide for the current episode. Of the treated patients, only 36% had received and completed adequate treatment (including the simultaneous treatment of all household members) and 50% had not received clear written recommendations. Conclusions: In a high proportion of the cases of scabies studied, the patient had already received treatment. In those cases, we observed several remediable shortcomings that could explain why some of these treatments had failed. Remedying these deficiencies should lead to better control of scabies and an improved assessment of the actual effectiveness of currently available scabicides. Antecedentes: Diversos trabajos apoyan la hipótesis de que en España se está produciendo un aumento de incidencia de escabiosis y existen dudas sobre el posible desarrollo de resistencias y el incremento de formas clínicas atípicas. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron caracterizar el perfil demográfico y clínico de los pacientes de escabiosis atendidos por dermatólogos en España, identificar la posible aparición de escabiosis atípicas, así como describir la frecuencia y los posibles factores de riesgo de los fracasos terapéuticos previos. Métodos. Realizamos un estudio observacional, transversal, multicéntrico con recogida de datos prospectiva, en abril y mayo de 2023 dentro de la plataforma CLINI-AEDVp de la Academia Española de Dermatología y Venereología. Resultados. Se reclutaron 186 casos de escabiosis activa (51% mujeres) en 31 centros participantes de 15 Comunidades Autónomas. Se requirió un nivel A, B o C de criterios IACS para el diagnóstico. El 92% de los pacientes presentaron formas clínicas típicas de escabiosis y un 66% había recibido tratamiento escabicida previo para el episodio en curso. De los pacientes previamente tratados, sólo un 36% había recibido y cumplimentado una pauta terapéutica adecuada que incluyera el tratamiento simultáneo de convivientes, y un 50% careció de un documento escrito y claro con las recomendaciones. Conclusiones. Una elevada proporción de los casos de escabiosis atendidos actualmente ha recibido tratamiento previo. En estos se observan defectos corregibles que pueden justificar parte de los fracasos terapéuticos. Trabajar en la mejora de las deficiencias encontradas ayudará a un mejor control de la enfermedad y a evaluar la efectividad actual de los escabicidas disponibles.

Las funciones y herramientas del dermatólogo se han incrementado en los últimos años, algunos ejemplos son la Dermatología estética, la inteligencia artificial, la teledermatología y el uso de redes sociales. Éstos junto con la industria farmacéutica o la cosmética son origen de problemas bioéticos. El objetivo de la presente revisión narrativa es identificar los problemas bioéticos de la práctica dermatológica y señalar las soluciones que se han propuesto. Para ello, se han realizado búsquedas en PubMed, Web of Science y Scopus y evaluado los principales códigos deontológicos españoles y americanos de médicos y dermatólogos. Los autores recomiendan declarar el conflicto de interés, respetar la autonomía, confidencialidad y privacidad del paciente. La Dermatología estética, venta de cosméticos, inteligencia artificial, teledermatología y uso de redes sociales pueden ser adecuados, si se cumplen con los mismos estándares que en la práctica habitual. Es necesario la actualización de los códigos deontológicos a las novedades.

Introducción y objetivoLa patología tumoral conforma una parte esencial de la actividad dermatológica. El presente estudio pretende analizar la carga de los tumores cutáneos en la actividad dermatológica pública y privada del sistema de salud español.Material y métodoEstudio observacional de corte transversal de 2 períodos de tiempo describiendo los diagnósticos realizados en consultas externas dermatológicas, obtenidos a través de la encuesta anónima DIADERM, realizada a una muestra aleatoria y representativa de dermatólogos. A partir de la codificación de diagnósticos CIE-10, se seleccionó toda la patología tumoral (165 diagnósticos codificados en los 2 períodos), que se clasificó en 24 grupos, posteriormente subclasificada en patología benigna y maligna, melanocítica y no melanocítica.ResultadosEl 46,2% de los diagnósticos fueron de patología tumoral. El 18,5% de los diagnósticos globales se debió a tumores malignos (incluyendo entre estos diagnósticos los tumores queratinocíticos in situ). De los primeros 10 diagnósticos de patología tumoral en frecuencia, 4 eran malignos: tumores queratinocíticos in situ, carcinoma basocelular, melanoma y carcinoma espinocelular. Se encontraron algunas diferencias significativas entre tumores benignos y malignos atendiendo al ámbito de su asistencia (público/privado), así como a factores geográficos.ConclusiónEl cáncer cutáneo tiene un peso importante en la asistencia dermatológica en España. Se pueden observar algunas diferencias en función del ámbito de atención público/privado y de otros factores.

Symmetry is one of the distinguishing features when diagnosing the malignancy of skin lesions. In this work, we introduce an extension of the SymDerm dataset with around 2000 new annotations, and analyze 1) the effect of different data augmentation techniques on learning the skin lesion symmetry classification task, and 2) how the learning of this task is affected when combined with the classification of its malignancy in a multitask learning environment. We conclude that, although not all data augmentation techniques improve classification performance, these techniques achieve an increase of approximately 7.7% for B.Acc and Precision, 8.0% for Recall and F1-score, and 15.08% for the Kappa score. Moreover, we show that symmetry classification benefits from the introduction of an auxiliary task by stabilizing the learning curve and decreasing the train-validation learning gap.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Background and objective: Predominantly sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and infestations and other anogenital dermatoses are covered in the training of specialists in dermatology and venereology in Spain. This study aimed to analyze the proportion of the dermatology caseload these diseases account for within the public and private dermatological activity of the Spanish health system. Material and methods: Observational cross-sectional study of time periods describing the diagnoses made in outpatient dermatology clinics, obtained through the anonymous DIADERM survey of a representative random sample of dermatologists. Based on diagnostic codes of the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, 36 related diagnoses were selected, and classified into 12 groups. Results: Only 3.16% of diagnoses corresponded to STIs and other anogenital dermatoses. The most common diagnostic group was anogenital human papillomavirus infection, followed by molluscum contagiosum, and inflammatory anogenital dermatoses. Lesions with these diagnoses were usually the main reasons for first visits in the National Health Service. In private practice, the diagnoses usually came after referrals from other physicians. Conclusions: STIs and other anogenital dermatoses account for a very small proportion of the dermatology caseload in Spain, although the inclusion of molluscum contagiosum diagnoses overestimates these conditions. The fact that no STI centers or monographic STI consultations were included in the random sample of dermatology partly explains the under-representation of these areas of the specialty. A determined effort to support and promote monographic STI centres and clinics should be made.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:The burden of nonvenereal infections in Spanish dermatology practice has not yet been evaluated. The aim of this study was to analyze the overall weight of these infections in outpatient dermatology caseloads. MATERIAL AND METHODS:Observational cross-sectional study of diagnoses made by a random selection of dermatologists from the Spanish Association of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV) working in outpatient dermatology clinics. The data were obtained through the anonymous DIADERM survey. Diagnoses of infectious diseases were selected using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision. After excluding sexually transmitted infections, the diagnoses were classified into 22 groups. RESULTS:Spanish dermatologists diagnosed an estimated 16Y190 (95% CI, 9338-23Y042) nonvenereal infections on average per week, a figure that accounted for 9.33% of the dermatology caseload. The most common diagnostic groups were nonanogenital viral warts (7475 diagnoses, 46.17% of nonvenereal infections), dermatophytosis (3336, 20.61%), and other viral infections (1592, 9.84%), which included Molluscum contagiosum infections. Nonvenereal infections were more common than noninfectious dermatologic conditions in private clinics (P<.0020) and adults (P<.00001). Patients with these infections were also more likely to be discharged than those with other conditions in both public (P<.0004) and private (P<.0002) practices. CONCLUSIONS:Nonvenereal infections are frequent in dermatology. They are the third most common reason for outpatient visits, behind actinic keratosis and nonmelanoma skin cancer. By enhancing the participation of dermatologists in the management of skin infections and encouraging interactions with other specialists, we will be able to carve out a niche in an area we have scarcely ventured into to date.

The burden of nonvenereal infections in Spanish dermatology practice has not yet been evaluated. The aim of this study was to analyze the overall weight of these infections in outpatient dermatology caseloads.Observational cross-sectional study of diagnoses made by a random selection of dermatologists from the Spanish Association of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV) working in outpatient dermatology clinics. The data were obtained through the anonymous DIADERM survey. Diagnoses of infectious diseases were selected using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision. After excluding sexually transmitted infections, the diagnoses were classified into 22 groups.Spanish dermatologists diagnosed an estimated 16190 (95% CI, 9338-23042) nonvenereal infections on average per week, a figure that accounted for 9.33% of the dermatology caseload. The most common diagnostic groups were nonanogenital viral warts (7475 diagnoses, 46.17% of nonvenereal infections), dermatophytosis (3336, 20.61%), and other viral infections (1592, 9.84%), which included Molluscum contagiosum infections. Nonvenereal infections were more common than noninfectious dermatologic conditions in private clinics (P<.0020) and adults (P<.00001). Patients with these infections were also more likely to be discharged than those with other conditions in both public (P<.0004) and private (P<.0002) practices.Nonvenereal infections are frequent in dermatology. They are the third most common reason for outpatient visits, behind actinic keratosis and nonmelanoma skin cancer. By enhancing the participation of dermatologists in the management of skin infections and encouraging interactions with other specialists, we will be able to carve out a niche in an area we have scarcely ventured into to date.

La irrupción de la inteligencia artificial (IA) a nivel mundial ha supuesto un antes y un después en nuestras vidas, generando grandes mejoras en diferentes sectores, como el de la automoción y el agroalimentario, entre otros, lo que ha llevado a denominarla la cuarta revolución industrial. La AI, capaz de aprender de forma automatizada y de ayudar al profesional a mejorar sus procesos, promete cambiar el ámbito sanitario tal y como lo conocemos mediante: 1) aplicaciones capaces de generar salud en la población general a partir del uso de información de calidad y de segmentación de consejos basados en modelos de predicción; 2) modelos capaces de generar algoritmos de predicción a partir de datos anonimizados procedentes de información clínica, a fin de mejorar la prevención primaria; 3) sistemas de análisis de imagen capaces de dar a los profesionales de la salud un soporte extra en la toma de decisiones, mejorando la prevención secundaria; y 4) aplicación de robótica combinada en la mejora de procesos ligados al ámbito de salud y bienestar.Sin embargo, la falta de conocimiento tanto en este tipo de tecnología, como en los términos y la metodología de validación de la misma, hace que la clase médica dude en si esta revolución supone una amenaza o una oportunidad para la profesión. En el presente artículo de revisión pretendemos introducir una serie de aspectos básicos de la IA aplicada a la dermatología, así como los principales avances sucedidos en este campo en los últimos 5 años.

Skin cancer has become a public health problem due to its increasing incidence. However, the malignancy risk of the lesions can be reduced if diagnosed at an early stage. To do so, it is essential to identify particular characteristics such as the symmetry of lesions. In this work, we present a novel approach for skin lesion symmetry classification of dermoscopic images based on deep learning techniques. We use a CNN model, which classifies the symmetry of a skin lesion as either "fully asymmetric", "symmetric with respect to one axis", or "symmetric with respect to two axes". Moreover, we introduce a new dataset of labels for 615 skin lesions. During the experimentation framework, we also evaluate whether it is beneficial to rely on transfer learning from pre-trained CNNs or traditional learning-based methods. As a result, we present a new simple, robust and fast classification pipeline that outperforms methods based on traditional approaches or pre-trained networks, with a weighted-average F1-score of 64.5%.

BACKGROUND:Haemosiderotic and aneurysmal dermatofibromas are uncommon and frequently misdiagnosed lesions, which can be considered as different histopathological stages of the same tumour. A dermoscopic diagnosis testing accuracy has not been performed for these tumours to date. OBJECTIVES:To determine the diagnostic significance of dermoscopic structures and patterns associated with haemosiderotic/ aneurysmal dermatofibromas in a large series. METHODS:Dermoscopic images of histopathologically proven cases of 110 haemosiderotic/ aneurysmal dermatofibromas and 501 other tumours were collected. The frequency, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the dermoscopic structures and patterns associated with these lesions were calculated. RESULTS:Haemosiderotic/ aneurysmal dermatofibromas are mostly symmetric lesions (86.5%), and a prominent homogeneous area was present in 100% of them. The presence of vascular structures was very common (86.4%), and dotted vessels were predominant (58.2%). Shiny white structures were seen in 85.5% of lesions, while a peripheral delicate pigment network was present in 69.1%. The most significant pattern was the one composed of a prominent homogeneous area and peripheral delicate pigment network, which showed a specificity of 100% with a relatively good sensitivity (69.1%). All the patterns containing a peripheral delicate pigment network showed very good specificities, positive predictive values and negative predictive values. Those patterns without a peripheral delicate pigment network showed the highest sensitivities, but they showed a significant overlap with other tumours, mainly with melanoma. CONCLUSIONS:Dermoscopy is helpful in improving the diagnostic accuracy of haemosiderotic/ aneurysmal dermatofibromas. However, there is a considerable dermoscopic overlap between these tumours and melanoma, specifically when the peripheral delicate pigment network is absent.

The worldwide explosion of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) has created a before-and-after moment in our lives by generating great improvements in such sectors as the automotive and food production industries. AI has even been called the fourth industrial revolution. Machine learning through AI is helping to improve professional processes and promises to transform the health care sector as we know it in various ways: 1) through applications able to promote health in the general population by providing high-quality information and offering advice for different segments of the population based on prediction models; 2) by developing prediction models based on anonymized clinical data, for preventive purposes in primary care; 3) by analyzing images to provide additional decision-making support for health care providers, for improving specialist care at the secondary level; and 4) through robotics applied to processes that promote health and well-being. However, the medical profession harbors doubts about whether this revolution is a threat or an opportunity owing to a lack of understanding of AI technology and the methods used to validate its applications. This article outlines basic aspects of AI as it is applied in dermatology and reviews the main advances achieved in the last 5 years.

The aim of this study was to compare tumour burden in patients who underwent surgery for melanoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma during nationwide lockdown in Spain due to COVID-19 (for the period 14 March to 13 June 2020) and during the same dates in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, associations between median tumour burden (Breslow thickness for melanoma and maximum clinical diameter for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma) and demographic, clinical, and medical factors were analysed, building a multivariate linear regression model. During the 3 months of lockdown, there was a significant decrease in skin tumours operated on (41% decrease for melanoma (n = 352 vs n = 207) and 44% decrease for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (n = 770 vs n = 429)) compared with the previous year. The proportion of large skin tumours operated on increased. Fear of SARS-CoV-2 infection, with respect to family member/close contact, and detection of the lesion by the patient or doctor, were related to thicker melanomas; and fear of being diagnosed with cancer, and detection of the lesion by the patient or relatives, were related to larger size cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. In conclusion, lockdown due to COVID-19 has resulted in a reduction in treatment of skin cancer.

IntroducciónLas infecciones e infestaciones de transmisión predominantemente sexual y otras dermatosis anogenitales forman parte de la formación específica de los médicos especialistas en Dermatología y Venereología en España. El presente estudio pretende analizar la carga que suponen dichas patologías en la actividad dermatológica pública y privada del sistema de salud español.Material y métodoEstudio observacional de corte transversal de dos períodos de tiempo describiendo los diagnósticos realizados en consultas externas dermatológicas, obtenidos a través de la encuesta anónima DIADERM, realizada a una muestra aleatoria y representativa de dermatólogos. A partir de la codificación de diagnósticos CIE-10, se seleccionó toda la patología relacionada (36 diagnósticos codificados en los dos períodos), que se clasificó en 12 grupos.ResultadosTan solo el 3,16% de los diagnósticos globales fueron de infecciones e infestaciones de transmisión predominantemente sexual y otras dermatosis anogenitales. Los 3 grupos diagnósticos más frecuentes fueron las lesiones por virus del papiloma humano anogenital, seguido de los molluscum contagiosum y las dermatosis anogenitales inflamatorias. Con significación estadística, y comparando con el global de diagnósticos, los seleccionados constituyeron más habitualmente el motivo de consulta primario y, en el ámbito privado, fue más frecuente que viniesen derivados de otros especialistas.ConclusiónLas infecciones e infestaciones de transmisión predominantemente sexual y otras dermatosis anogenitales tienen un peso muy limitado en la asistencia dermatológica en España, a pesar de que la inclusión del diagnóstico de molluscum contagiosum sobreestima estos diagnósticos. La ausencia de inclusión de centros y consultas monográficas de ITS en la muestra aleatoria contribuye a la infrarrepresentación de estas parcelas de la especialidad. Es importante hacer un esfuerzo decidido por potenciarlas con consultas y centros monográficos.

Introduction and objective: A significant part of a dermatologist's activity involves the diagnosis and management of tumors. The aim of this study was to analyze the caseload at public and private dermatology outpatient clinics in Spain to determine the proportion of tumor diagnoses. Material and method: Observational cross-sectional study of diagnoses made in dermatology outpatient clinics during 2 data-collection periods in the DIADERM study, an anonymous survey of a random, representative sample of dermatologists across Spain. Diagnoses made during the 2 periods were coded according to the CIE-10. There were 165 tumor-related codes, classified into 24 groups. For the purpose of this study, these groups were then reduced to benign melanocytic lesions, malignant melanocytic lesions, benign nonmelanocytic lesions, and malignant nonmelanocytic lesions. Results: Tumors accounted for 46.2% of all diagnoses; 18.5% of the tumors were malignant (a category that included in situ forms of keratinocyte cancers). Four of the 10 most common diagnoses were of malignant tumors: in situ keratinocyte cancers, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. Significant differences were observed between malignant and benign tumors according to type of practice (public vs. private) and geographic region. Conclusion: Skin cancer accounts for a significant part of the dermatologist's caseload in Spain. Differences can be observed depending on the public/private healthcare setting and other factors. (C) 2021 AEDV. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.

Skin conditions are one of the most frequent reasons for visiting a primary health care facility, making it of vital importance that general practitioners (GPs) have the right knowledge and tools to diagnose the most frequent dermatological conditions. Methods: This study evaluates the accuracy of dermatological diagnoses made by 120 GPs based on photographs taken with a smartphone by an anonymous online cross-sectional survey. Results: The study was carried out between August and October 2018. The results show that the majority of the participants are in favor of using mobile phones to communicate with other professionals and use them to consult medical images. The majority (69%) took dermatological photographs and the preferred device was a smartphone (70%). From 22 different images evaluated, in 69% of responses, participants expressed a high degree of confidence in their ability to diagnose the lesion shown and in 72% of the cases, the diagnosis chosen was correct. Conclusions: The study confirms that the use of smartphone to send medical images is growing rapidly and its potential for taking medical images is an opportunity to help primary care teams deal with dermatological problems. The results suggest that GPs need further training in interpreting dermatological images, to increase their diagnostic confidence and to avoid the need for referrals to face-to-face visits.

Background and objectives: Skin cancer is a common cause for referral to dermatology, but it may also be an incidental finding during examination of patients referred for other reasons. The objective of the study was to compare the characteristics of skin cancer lesions (squamous skin carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma) diagnosed at a dermatology department over 1 year between patients referred for suspected skin cancer and those referred for another reason but in whom skin cancer was detected as an incidental finding. Pearson's chi(2) test was used to compare different study variables between the 2 groups. Results: Data were collected from 433 patients with a mean age of 72 years; 233 (51.3%) of the patients were female. The most common skin types were Fitzpatrick types II and III. Basal cell carcinoma was the most frequent cancer in all the analyses and accounted for 68.4% of all cancers diagnosed (296/433). Twenty-six percent of the malignant skin tumors were detected incidentally. Statistical analysis revealed that these tumors tended to be located in nonvisible areas and were smaller and of more recent onset than tumors initially suspected to be malignant. Conclusions: The high rate of skin cancer diagnosed incidentally by dermatologists highlights the need to carry out thorough examinations of patients in order to facilitate early detection and treatment. (C) 2020 AEDV. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Understanding the origin and referral routes of patients seen in teledermatology and in-person dermatology consultations in Spain is of interest from the perspective of health care management. The objective of this study was to describe the referral routes and the frequency and characteristics of teledermatology consultations in Spain.MATERIAL AND METHODS:We performed a descriptive cross-sectional study of data collected over 6 days from the DIADERM study sample, which included the outpatients diagnosed by 80 Spanish dermatologists, selected by means of stratified random sampling. We studied the source and destination of patients based on funding, type of consultation, and age of the patients. We reported the frequency of teledermatology consultations, their origin and destination, type of funding, age of the patients, and most common diagnoses, and compared them with the same characteristics for in-person consultations.RESULTS:In private consultations, most patients were direct clients, whereas the most frequent source in public consultations was primary care and the dermatologist. Sixty-six percent of patients were referred to dermatology and 27% were discharged. No differences in these percentages were found between public and private consultations. The ratio of follow-up to initial visits was 0.8 for public consultations and 0.2 for private consultations. Teledermatology accounts for 1% of consultations. Eighty percent of these come from primary care and 17% are direct visits. Thirty-three percent of these visits are referred to primary care - a greater proportion than in in-person consultations. Galicia, Andalusia, and Catalonia are the regions with the highest percentage of consultations.CONCLUSIONS:The results suggest that dermatologists in Spain have a considerable ability to resolve cases. Teledermatology accounts for a small percentage of consultations and access to these consultations is direct in a large percentage of cases.

Antecedentes y objetivoLas lesiones cutáneas constituyen un motivo de consulta frecuente en Atención Primaria (AP). Aquellas que no supongan un problema de salud, sino una cuestión estética, no deben ser tratadas en el Sistema Nacional de Salud, según la legislación vigente. El objetivo de este trabajo es estimar qué porcentaje de derivaciones remitidas desde AP a Dermatología por lesiones quísticas o tumores benignos corresponde a lesiones que podríamos considerar potencialmente evitables.Material y métodoUtilizamos los diagnósticos principales de los pacientes derivados de AP, recogidos en el estudio representativo nacional DIADERM. Cada uno de los diagnósticos derivados fue clasificado como potencialmente evitable si se correspondía con alguno de los diagnósticos con criterio de alta desde AP, establecidos en el documento de consenso propuesto por la sección territorial andaluza de la Academia Española de Dermatología y Venereología.ResultadosSe recogieron datos de 2.171 motivos principales de consulta derivados de AP como primeras consultas. De estos, 686 (31,6%) son diagnósticos que podrían corresponderse con derivaciones potencialmente evitables por lesiones quísticas o tumorales benignas. Un 22% (478) del total de las consultas fueron dadas de alta en la primera visita. Los diagnósticos más frecuentes entre estos fueron las queratosis seborreicas (9,3%) y los nevus melanocíticos (8,6%).ConclusionesLa proporción de derivaciones potencialmente evitables a Dermatología desde AP por lesiones quísticas y tumorales benignas supone casi un tercio de las consultas. El conocimiento de la realidad asistencial de nuestro entorno puede ser útil para mejorar la planificación, la formación y la gestión sanitaria.