Childhood atopic eczema consensus document

No Abstract. South African Medical Journal Vol. 95(6) 2005: 435-44

Guideline on the management of psoriasis in South Africa

The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaBackground. Psoriasis vulgaris is a chronic, relapsing, immunemediated, potentially devastating disease, influenced by genetic and environmental factors, that can cause substantial morbidity and psychological stress and have a profound negative impact on patient quality of life. Objective. These guidelines for the management of psoriasis have been developed in an attempt to improve the outcomes of treatment of this condition in South Africa. Psoriasis has a major impact on the quality of life of sufferers, and it is expected that these guidelines, if implemented, will play a role in achieving improved outcome. Scope. These guidelines were developed to address the diagnosis and treatment of psoriasis, of differing degrees of severity and in patients of all ages, by all health care professionals involved with its management. Recommendations. All health care workers involved in the management of psoriasis should take note of these guidelines and try to implement them in clinical practice as far as possible. All treatment methods and procedures not substantiated by evidence from the literature should be discontinued and avoided to decrease the financial burden of psoriasis treatment. Validation. These guidelines were developed through general consensus by a group of 8 South African dermatologists (the ’Working Group’) sanctioned by the Dermatological Society of South Africa (DSSA), by adaptation for the South African situation of the current guidelines used in the USA, the UK, Germany, Canada and Finland. Draft documents were made available for comment to the dermatological community as a whole via the official website of the DSSA, and the guidelines were presented and discussed at the annual congress of the DSSA in 2008. All input from these sources, where appropriate, were then incorporated into these guidelines. Guidelines sponsor. Schering-Plough initiated the project and sponsored the meetings of the working group and all costs generated by these meetings. Plans for guideline revision. The field of biologicals and cytokine modulators is in a rapid phase of development, and revision of the scope and content of these guidelines will be ongoing as longer-term data emerge.Publishers' Versio

Prevalence of alexithymia in patients with psoriasis and its association with disease burden: a multicentre observational study

Background: Single-centre studies show that alexithymia, defined as difficulty in recognizing and describing emotions, is more prevalent among patients with psoriasis than in the general population. However, its prevalence and the consequences of the association between alexithymia and psoriasis are unclear. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of alexithymia, as defined by a score ≥ 61 in the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, in a large sample of patients who had plaque psoriasis for ≤ 10 years and were eligible for phototherapy or systemic treatment. The secondary objectives were to investigate the relationship between alexithymia and the clinical and psychological aspects of psoriasis. Methods: Data were collected in the framework of an observational, multicentre, international study, the EPidemiological Study In Patients With Recently DiagnosEd PSOriasis (EPIDEPSO), aiming at investigating the prevalence of alexithymia and other psychosocial comorbidities in patients with psoriasis of ≤ 10 years’ disease duration. Results: The prevalence of alexithymia within a cohort of 670 patients was 24·8% (95% confidence interval 21·7–28·2). Patients with alexithymia had a higher burden of psoriasis, including significant impairment of quality of life, higher levels of anxiety and depression, a higher risk of alcohol dependency and impairment of work productivity, compared with patients without alexithymia. Conclusions: It is important to identify alexithymic patients with psoriasis in clinical practice as they experience a higher disease burden and have a lower ability to express their feelings. © 2016 British Association of Dermatologist