7 research outputs found
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