[Teledermatology: diagnostic correlation in a primary care service].
BACKGROUND
Telemedicine can be defined as the use of telecommunication technologies for the transmission of health data. It has been described in different medical specialties, especially those in which interpretation of images represents a fundamental key in formulating diagnosis.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the role of teledermatology in primary care system.


METHODS
A prospective analysis included 60 patients seen in a primary care unit. All patients were seen by a dermatologist as regular outpatient dermatology consultation. A medical student obtained digital images and a brief clinical history of all patients. Using a Telemedicine system these data were reviewed by two dermatologists for distance diagnosis. Agreement between the diagnoses was assessed.


RESULTS
Good agreement, ranging from 86.6% to 91.6%, was achieved between direct observation and teleconsultation. Good agreement was also achieved between two telemedicine diagnosis (Kappa = 0.62).


CONCLUSIONS
Teledermatology is a form of care with great potential for use in dermatology, and could represent a useful tool in cases of low complexity from primary health units.
Silva
Cristiana Silveira
CS
Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. silveira.cristiana@gmail.com
Souza
Murilo Barreto
MB
Duque
Isabelle Ary
IA
de Medeiros
Luciana Molina
LM
Melo
Nayra Rodrigues
NR
Araújo
Cecília de Almeida
Cde A
Criado
Paulo Ricardo
PR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017216:Telemedicine; D055815:Young Adult