Previously submitted to: iProceedings (no longer under consideration since Oct 10, 2023)
Date Submitted: Mar 29, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 29, 2023 - May 24, 2023
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Teledermatology during military conflicts
ABSTRACT
Background:
Background:
Telehealth, in particular Teledermatology, became an accepted method to offer necessary consultations, follow ups and, what had proven the most important, to triage patients based on the urgency in medical intervention.
Objective:
Objective:
The objective of our study was to assessment of the Teledermatology project as the successful initiative for civilian population during military conflicts around the world.
Methods:
Methods:
During ten months (March 2022 to December 2022) 320 patients were consulted utilizing two most recognised types in Tele Dermatology: store and forwarding, which involves transferring images and clinical information to the dermatologist for review at another time and place; and live interactive, usually video conferencing, which allows real-time interaction between doctor and patient. The entire project was implemented by Dermatologists, based and sponsored by the Euroderm Clinic located in Kiev, Ukraine.
Results:
Results:
A total of 320 patients participated. Demographics of civilian population consulted and managed by Dermatologists via Telehealth initiative revealed that vast majority of patients, 65%, to be women average age 37-year-old. Analysis of the 35% male consults showed the average age of 59 year old. There were 80 consults for paediatric population, ages 1 to 16, comprising 25% of all consultations. Preliminary analysis had discovered that 70% of patients had acute exacerbation of chronic skin diseases and skin infections (25% - psoriasis, 15% - eczema, 5% - seborrheic dermatitis, 10% - skin infections, 8 % - skin fungal infections, 7% - acne), 20% had skin neoplasms, including benign and malignant (2% -melanoma, 4% -seborrheic keratoma, 10% - nevus, 3% - basal cell carcinoma, 1% - squamous cell carcinoma), and 10% were patients with skin alterations due to trauma, burns, and post-surgical treatment.
Conclusions:
Conclusions:
Teledermatology give to provide a systematic Dermatologic services to the most vulnerable people: women, children and elderly population during military conflicts. According to the study, the majority of diagnoses made using teledermatology were confirmed (90%) after an in-person examination. The correct diagnosis was hampered by factors such as poor image quality and periodic lack of internet connection.
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Copyright
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