The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on nonmelanoma skin cancers: report of a Southern Italy referral centre

Covid-19, leukemia, and secondary malignancies of the skin - is there a connection: a case report and literature analysis

We report the case of a patient who was diagnosed with two melanomas and one skin cancer within two years. Of particular interest was the fact, that at the time these tumors were diagnosed, the patient was already suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia, which developed three months after recovering from Covid-19. From the time of leukemia occurrence, the patient has been taking the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) - Gleevec. Thus, we took into the account the possibile effect of Gleevec administration on the risk of skin tumor appearance. It was also important to analyze the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and chronic myeloid leukemia on the risk of secondary malignancies. According to so far published data, the direct relationship between Gleevec treatment and the occurrence of skin cancers cannot be proved. However, literature data indicate a direct and indirect relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and an increased incidence of carcinogenesis.

Teledermatology for Common Inflammatory Skin Conditions: The Medicine of the Future?

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic period revolutionized daily clinical practice. Several strategies were adopted by clinicians to avoid reducing treatment for diseases without the risk of spreading the infection. Among the adopted strategies, telemedicine played a key role. In this scenario, several tools were used, including e-mails, phone calls, video calls, support groups, and messages. Fortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic period seems to be at an end. However, the use of teledermatology appears to be an excellent strategy for the future as well. Indeed, several patients may benefit from teledermatology.

OBJECTIVE

In this manuscript, we aim to investigate the use of telemedicine in the dermatological field to point out how this tool may become the mainstay of future medicine. Only the use of teledermatology with common inflammatory skin conditions have been reported herein.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Investigated manuscripts included metanalyses, reviews, letters to the editor, real-life studies, case series, and reports. Manuscripts were identified, screened, and extracted for relevant data following the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) guidelines.

RESULTS

A total of 121 records were identified from the analyzed databases. However, only 110 articles were assessed for eligibility. Finally, 92 articles were selected at the end of the literature research for our review.

CONCLUSIONS

Teledermatology should be considered as a viable option for the dermatologist for the future. We believe that the pandemic has strengthened this service, and this will allow for ever better development in the future. Guidelines regarding the use of teledermatology are required as well as additional improvements for the future.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis of patients with skin cancer: a systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed aspects of patient care in the many scheduled medical activities, restricted access to healthcare facilities, and affected the diagnosis and organisation of patients with other health problems, specifically skin cancer. Skin cancer, the uninhibited progress of atypical skin cells, happens with unrepaired DNA genetic faults that lead them to multiply and create malignant tumours. Currently, dermatologists perform skin cancer diagnosis based on their specialised experience using the results of pathological tests from the skin biopsy. Sometimes, some specialists advise sonography imaging to check the skin tissue as a non-invasive method. The outbreak has led to postponements in the treatment and diagnosis of patients with skin cancer, including diagnostic delays because of limitations of diagnostic capacities and delays in referring patients to the physician. The purpose of this review is to improve our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the diagnosis of patients with skin cancer and conduct a scoping review to identify whether routine skin cancer diagnoses are affected by the persistent incidence of COVID-19.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The structure of research was compiled using Population/Intervention/Comparison/Outcomes/Study Design and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. First, we will find the main keywords to capture scientific studies related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis of skin cancer: COVID-19 and skin neoplasms. To warrant sufficient coverage and identify potential articles, we will search the combination of four electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science and EMBASE, and ProQuest from 1 January 2019 until 30 September 2022. The screening, selection and data extraction of studies will be performed by two independent authors, who will then assessed the quality of the included studies according to Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

As this study will be a systematic review without human participants' involvement, no formal ethical assessment is required. Findings will be presented at conferences related to this field and will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42022361569.

The Role of Teledermatology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review

Teledermatology represented one of the most important and useful tools during the COVID-19 pandemic era. Indeed, due to the severe restriction, and to reduce the spread of the infection, different measures were applied among different countries and hospitals to ensure a continuity of care for patients. In this scenario, teledermatology played a central role, especially in the management of patients suffering from chronic inflammatory skin diseases. The aim of this narrative review is to describe the role of teledermatology during the COVID-19 pandemic to analyze main strengths and limitations of this tool, as well as to provide future perspectives in clinical applications.

Cutaneous Reactions Following COVID-19 Vaccination: A Review of the Current Literature

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represented a new worldwide challenge, strongly impacting on the global economy, overall health and lifestyle. Since then, several strategies have been adopted to contain the widespread of infection. Among these, vaccination is currently the most important measure to fight against the pandemic. However, several concerns such as slower-than-hoped-for rollout, the hurried approval with limited data, the mechanism of action (in particular mRNA-based), and the uncertain duration of protection they afforded were initially raised. Moreover, even if cutaneous reactions have been rarely reported in clinical trials, global mass vaccination showed several dermatologic reactions not initially recognized, leaving dermatologists to decide how to diagnose and treat them. In this scenario, dermatologists should be ready to promptly recognize these clinical manifestations. Thus, the aim of this manuscript is to review current literature on cutaneous reactions following COVID-19 vaccination, particularly inflammatory dermatological diseases, in order to help clinicians to better understand these dermatological conditions and to provide an extensive overview of all the vaccine-related skin manifestations.