title: Time required for a complete skin examination with and without dermoscopy: a prospective, randomized multicenter study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the time required to perform a complete skin examination (CSE) as a means of opportunistic screening for skin cancer both without and with dermoscopy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized, prospective multicenter study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight referral pigmented lesion clinics. Patients From June 2006 to January 2007, 1359 patients with at least 1 melanocytic or nonmelanocytic skin lesion were randomly selected to receive a CSE without dermoscopy or CSE with dermoscopy. For each patient, the total number of lesions and the duration of the CSE were recorded. A total of 1328 patients were eligible for analysis (31 were excluded because of missing data).
  
  
  METHODS
  The median time (measured in seconds) needed for CSE with and without dermoscopy and according to total cutaneous lesion count.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median time needed for CSE without dermoscopy was 70 seconds and with dermoscopy was 142 seconds, a significant difference of 72 seconds (P < .001). The use of dermoscopy increased the duration of CSE, and this increase was in direct proportion to the patient's total lesion count. In contrast, the time required to perform a CSE without dermoscopy remained the same irrespective of whether the patients had few or many lesions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A CSE aided by dermoscopy takes significantly longer than a CSE without dermoscopy. However, a thorough CSE, with or without dermoscopy, requires less than 3 minutes, which is a reasonable amount of added time to potentially prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with skin cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 8, 8036 Graz, Austria. iris.zalaudek@meduni-graz.at
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zalaudek
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kittler
authors.forename: Ashfaq A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Marghoob
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balato
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blum
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dalle
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrara
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fink-Puches
authors.forename: Caterina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Giorgio
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hofmann-Wellenhof
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Malvehy
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moscarella
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Puig
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scalvenzi
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Argenziano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D046169:Dermoscopy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004526:Efficiency; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D013996:Time and Motion Studies