April 2022 digest

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,

We enter slowly the post COVID era and travel is now easier, even if the Ukraine war has made some long-haul flights more tiring.  We hope to receive many applications to the 2022 ISAD Research Fellowships call which is now open within this new travel context. Please submit your project online before June 15. The fellowships are funded by a generous grant of Pfizer with the aim of supporting research training of junior Dermatologists‐Venereologists or residents in Dermatology‐Venereology in a high standing academic center.  Previous awardees reports and publications are available on our website.

Our Sub-Saharan initiative of 2021 has allowed several African investigators to launch or comfort projects related to AD in Africa. The project of Dr Julienne Teclessou from Togo relies on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for the improvement of diagnosis and management of AD by primary care health workers in 20 peripheral health centers in Togo without direct access to a dermatologist.

All the health centers included had teledermatology equipment donated during the implementation of a previous teledermatology project focused on the management of common dermatoses. A brochure for the diagnosis and management of AD at the level of primary care was developed and used for training health workers. All cases suspected of AD at daily consultations were referred including photographs to the store and forward BOGOU teledermatology platform. Togolese dermatologists assessed the cases and helped the primary care health workers to manage the patients.

According to the progress report of Dr Teclessou at month 6 of the project, 142 of 182 referred cases were confirmed with a mean age of 9.6 years (2 months to 64 years). Children aged 0-15 years accounted for 78.87% and the sex ratio was balanced. Papular presentation was very common (88,7% of cases) confirming the importance of this mostly ignored feature in current scoring systems and highlighting how poorly adapted they are to black skin. The lesions were impetiginized in 18.3% of patients, mainly in children, and prurigo lesions were associated in nearly 10% of cases. More to learn on AD on black African skin in the following months… and we hope to have some of our African awardees coming to Montreal.

ISAD 2022, 12th Rajka symposium, Montréal

I remind you that the registration and abstract submission to the 12th Rajka symposium organized by Danielle Marcoux and Michèle Ramien at the Centre Sheraton Montreal is open online until May 30.

➜ Learn about the program

Registration info

➜ Abstract submission