Diagnosing Skin Diseases

A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE
FOR PEDIATRICIANS AND PRIMARY CARE GIVERS

DOODY'S BOOK REVIEWS

Diagnosing Skin Diseases

Score: 91

ISBN:

978-0-9783017-0-5

ISBN-10:

0-9783017-0-6

Copyright:

2009

Edition:

1st

Author:

Murray, Eileen, MD, FRCPC

Specialties:

Dermatology , Family Practice , Pediatrics , Advanced Practice , Pediatrics

Publisher:

PixSoft, Inc.

List Price:

$67.95

Expert Review

Reviewer:

Renata Mullen, MD (Palo Alto Medical Foundation)

Description

This is a compilation of dermatologic problems most likely to be encountered by pediatric healthcare providers. It is easy to install on any Windows computer.

Purpose

The aim is to provide nondermatologists with a diagnostic tool as well as an educational resource in pediatric dermatology. According to the author, pediatricians receive very little dermatologic training during their residency, yet once in practice, up to 30 percent of their patients present with skin problems. The DVD makes the information easily portable and easily accessible away from the library. Moreover, the delivery is enhanced by links to more detailed information, as well as the ability to show some of the material in a movie format. The objectives are, for the most part, met.

Audience

The product is intended not only for pediatric residents and medical students, but also for primary care providers in communities without access to a dermatologist. It meets the needs of this audience. The author is an experienced pediatric dermatologist.

Features

It begins with a chapter about diagnosing skin disease that goes over pertinent points of history taking and skin examination. A video shows how to perform a punch biopsy as well as how to perform a skin scraping for scabies. A chapter on primary lesions and diagnostic groups follows, which then provides a diagnostic tree that can be used to formulate a diagnosis. Once a potential diagnosis is arrived at, there is a link to a detailed description of the disease entity. The troubleshooting section is helpful. What is best about this DVD is that it is presented from a differential diagnosis standpoint, which is more useful in clinical practice. There is an excellent video of the hair growth cycle. The section on normal skin is easy to understand, appropriately concise, and helpful in understanding disease pathology. In the treatment section, a superior guide to the use of topical cortisones is presented, including vehicle choice, side effects and ways to minimize them, and ways to enhance effectiveness. Self-examination tests give instant feedback. The only shortcoming is that a few of the photographs are too small to see much detail, e.g. that of telogen vs. anagen hair. There is a way to enlarge some of the illustrations, but not all.

Assessment

This will make a good addition to the collection of primary care providers who see children and teens in their practice. The interactive format is useful when presented with a patient with a rash.

Review Questionnaire

Range	Question	Score
1-10	Are the products's objectives met?	8
1-10	Rate the worthiness of those objectives.	10
1-5	Is it directed at an appropriate audience?	5
1-5	Is there significant duplication? (1=significant, 5=insignificant)	5
1-5	Are there significant omissions? (1=significant, 5=insignificant)	4
1-5	Rate the authority of the producers.	5
1-5	Is there sufficient use of hypertext links, bookmarks?	5
1-5	Does the product perform as expected?	5
1-5	Rate the ease of installation.	5
1-5	Appropriate use of graphics, sound, video?	5
1-5	Rate the quality of visuals, sound.	3
1-5	Rate the ease of navigation.	4
1-5	Is this format appropriate for the material?	4
1-5	If documentation is provided for this product, rate the quality of documentation	N/A
1-10	Is this a worthwhile contribution to the field?	10
1-10	If this is an upgrade/2nd or later edition, is this new upgrade/edition needed?	N/A