The chronic inflammatory skin disorders that are frequently associated with an impairment of affected individuals along with their families are psoriasis, atopic eczema and urticarial. Although, there has been a constant progress in the treatment of these diseases, most affected people do not consult an office-based dermatologist.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the proportion of affected individuals with severe forms of these diseases that receive treatment by an office-based dermatologist in Bavaria. Almost 499 dermatologists listed in the database of the Bavarian Association of Panel Doctors were invited to take part in a paper-based cross-sectional study. The specified number of patients by each dermatologist were set in relation with the literature-based 1 year incidence, data on population and data of the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Bayern. Assessments were based on conservative, medium, and progressive estimation method approaches.

In general, 137 dermatologists (38.7% women) participated in the study. Conservative estimation specified that 56.5% of people with moderate to severe psoriasis, 57.3% of people with moderate to severe atopic eczema and 71.9% of people suffering from chronic spontaneous urticaria are not seen by an office-based dermatologist.

The study concluded that many affected people do not seek care from an office-based dermatologist when affected by a severe skin disorder.

Source: Schielein MC, Tizek L, Seifert F, Biedermann T, Zink A. [Health care of chronic inflammatory skin diseases: Do affected individuals seek dermatological care?] Hautarzt. 2019 Nov; 70(11):875-882. doi: 10.1007/s00105-019-04481-6.