Earlier this year, I attended the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care Spring in San Antonio, TX (disclosure: this event is run by HMP Global, publisher of The Dermatologist). One of my favorite sessions from this conference highlighted the identification and diagnosis of pressure injuries.1 For those in the readership who may not have experience with a pressure injury, it is defined as “localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue usually over a bony prominence, as a result of pressure, or pressure in combination with shear.”2 The presentation1 detailed the various diagnostic tools for diagnosis of pressure injury, including high- and low-frequency ultrasound and infrared thermography. Because some of these tools still need validating studies, suspicion of pressure injuries is usually based on the presence of erythema.
As I considered this area of study, it occurred to me that articles or presentations regarding pressure injuries in skin of color are hard to come by. This got me thinking: because visually identifying erythema is critical to diagnosis, have pressure injuries been underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in patients with skin of color? While I do not know the answer, the question made me reflect back on the past few issues of The Dermatologist.
In recent issues, this journal has published several articles regarding dermatology in skin of color.3-5 Even in the issue you currently hold in your hands, Raman K. Madan, MD, discusses therapeutic options for treating the cosmetic concerns associated with atopic dermatitis, with special attention to treating darker Fitzpatrick skin types (page 16); Cheryl M. Burgess, MD, FAAD, writes about managing complications from cosmetic procedures such as hyperpigmentation and keloids, which are both common in skin of color (page 38); and this issue’s feature endorsed by the National Rosacea Society briefly covers the June 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology on rosacea in skin of color (page 28).
Just as we have in years past, The Dermatologist will continue to provide timely practical and clinical coverage of the latest therapies, breaking stories, and hot topics affecting dermatology practices in 2020. With that being said, we welcome article submissions from our esteemed readers as well as suggestions on topics you would like to read on a monthly basis. Please reach out to me at lmateja@hmpglobal.com–I look forward to hearing your input on future journal content.
On behalf of Dr Steve Feldman, Chief Medical Editor; the Section Editors and Editorial Advisory Board; HMP Global, the publisher; and the editorial and business staff, I want to thank you for your continued readership of The Dermatologist. We wish you the best in this new year!
References
- Cuddigan J, Moore Z. Pressure injury detection: time-tested and new tools. Presented at: Symposium on Advanced Wound Care Spring/Wound Healing Society 2019; May 7-11, 2019; San Antonio, TX.
- National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance; Haesler E, ed. Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Practice Guideline. Osborne Park, Australia: Cambridge Media; 2014.
- Waldbieser J. Diagnosis rosacea in the Hispanic patient. Dermatologist. 2019;27(8):34,37.
- Weiss M. Challenges and pearls of treating AD in patients with skin of color. Dermatologist. 2019;27(10):34,37.
- Golpanian RS, Fourzali K, Tey HL, Yosipovitch G. Differences in the clinical phenotype of atopic eczema among age groups and ethnicities. Dermatologist. 2019;27(11):33-34,37.=
