Monthly Archives

April 2018

Patient received chemical peel

Staying Ahead of the Game in Skin of Color Dermatologic Care

By Sessions

The optimal treatments for skin of color patients seeking dermatologic care are constantly changing. Keeping up to date with the latest advances in the field, both medical and aesthetic, can prove to be difficult and overwhelm even the most brilliant dermatologist. With a growing recognition that constant training and direct access to skin of color thought leaders is necessary to be at the forefront of trending evidence-based research, leading experts in the field are joining forces to ensure skin of color patients receive the care they need. Among these experts are Dr. Andrew Alexis and Dr. Eliot Battle, co-chairs of the Skin of Color Seminar Series, the largest CE event dedicated to patients with skin types III – VI. With an unparalleled agenda and an esteemed faculty of KOL’s, this is probably THE event all dermatologists wanting to stay up to date on all skin of color medical and aesthetic advances must attend.

Always a highlight of the Skin of Color Seminar Series, attendees have the rare opportunity to ask their most pressing questions to the world’s top skin of color dermatology experts.

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Skin Type Classification: A Decennial Perspective

By SOC Manuscripts

Source: Journal of Drugs in Dermatology April 2018

Wendy E. Roberts MD FAAD 

The intent of this brief communication is to revisit the Roberts Skin Type Classification System published by Journal of Drugs in Dermatology (JDD) in 2008 with a 2018 lens and provide additional information for its wider acceptance and implementation. The key points of this communication are that the 2010 US census indicates rapid growth of the multiple race population up 30-50% from the 2000 census, cosmetic procedures have increased from 9.5 million to 12.8 million over the same 10 year period, and cosmetic procedures in SOC patients have increased 6% over the same 10 year period. We have come very far in our knowledge of skin safety and colorblind technology, however, as we experience rapid globalization and increasing diversity of traditionally diverse populations, this classification system is even more relevant now than it was 10 years ago. What standard are we using to predict our diverse patient outcomes to skin insult, injury, and inflammation? Why do we still use the limited Fitzpatrick Phototype System to communicate safety when the system does not address dyspigmentation and scarring, the most frequent complications in ill-fated skin trauma?

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Psoriasiform Pemphigus Foliaceus in an African American Female: An Important Clinical Manifestation

By SOC Manuscripts

Source: J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(4):471-473

Evan Austin BS, Jillian W. Millsop MD, Haines Ely MD, Jared Jagdeo MD MS and Joshua M. Schulman MD

A 50-year-old African-American woman presented to the dermatology clinic with a pruritic eruption of 3 years’ duration. On clinical examination, the patient had well-demarcated, pink, atrophic plaques and superficial erosions over the inframammary folds and mid-chest. She also had well-demarcated, hyperpigmented, hyperkeratotic scaly plaques over the abdomen, suprapubic region, elbows, knees, and back with sporadic small superficial blisters. A punch biopsy of the right abdomen was performed and revealed psoriasiform epidermal hyperplasia, focal parakeratosis, and acantholysis throughout the superficial spinous and granular layers. Only a sparse inflammatory infiltrate was present in the underlying dermis. Clinical and histological findings supported the diagnosis of pemphigus foliaceus (PF), but psoriasis was included in the differential diagnosis due to the presence of discrete plaques with an erythematous border. We hypothesize that patients with psoriasiform presentations of PF may be misdiagnosed with plaque psoriasis. It is important to distinguish between PF and psoriasis as there is evidence that ultraviolet light, a common treatment for psoriasis, may exacerbate PF. We document and highlight this atypical psoriasiform presentation of PF in a patient with skin of color to raise awareness and improve diagnosis and outcomes.

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