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Introduction: Knowledge of the dangers of sun exposure does not always lead to changes in behavior. Failure to make behavioral adjustments is of particular concern in high-risk patients., Objectives: a) To assess the impact of melanoma diagnosis on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors relating to sun protection, and b) to identify factors that could influence sun protection behaviors., Methods: A coded, anonymous questionnaire was given to 195 patients with a recent diagnosis of melanoma. Data were collected on clinical and demographic variables and on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors relating to sun protection before and after diagnosis. The questionnaire also addressed patients' sense of distress and guilt following diagnosis., Results: Sun protection behaviors improved following diagnosis in 66% of patients. Although 98% of patients reported having received advice on sun protection following diagnosis, 15% continued to take inadequate sun protection measures. The probability of behavioral improvement following diagnosis was 4 times greater in women than in men. The subgroup of patients whose behavior improved had worse behaviors prior to diagnosis than did those who showed no improvement. Patients who expressed distress and feelings of guilt following diagnosis were more likely to improve their sun protection behavior. Age, tumor site, intensiveness of treatment, and belief that a suntan is healthy had no significant influence on behavioral change., Conclusions: Melanoma diagnosis is associated with increased knowledge of sun protection measures and improvement in behaviors. Nevertheless, patients continue to use inadequate sun protection measures. Identification of barriers to optimal sun protection behavior may be instrumental in designing targeted educational campaigns.

Although Trichophyton raubitschekii was first described by Kane et al. as a distinct species of dermatophyte, it is now classified as a variety of T. rubrum. The variety raubitschekii differs from the other varieties of T. rubrum in morphology, physiology, epidemiology and patterns of infection, but they are indistinguishable using molecular methods. T. rubrum var. raubitschekii is mostly found in Africa, Asia and South America. We present two cases of imported mycosis in two Nigerian men due to T. rubrum var. raubitschekii. The patients have Tinea cruris lesions on the buttocks. These are the first reported cases of this dermatophytosis in Spain.

Introduction: Teledermatology is been currently introduced as a diagnostic tool in the daily practice of the dermatologist. Many published works regarding teleconsult show the high sensitivity and economic saving of this technique as a diagnostic method., Material and Methods: In this article we report our experience with nearly 1,000 teleconsults carried out in a period of two years, from October 2004 to October 2006., Results: The majority of the 917 teleconsults performed were for benign lesions, notably seborrheic keratosis in 201 cases; among malignant lesions actinic keratosis appeared in 161 cases and melanoma was diagnosed in 5 cases. Fifty-eight percent of teleconsults have been arranged for a face-to-face consult in order to perform adequate treatment, in 90 % of cases, or to confirm diagnosis or carry out complementary exams, in 10 % of cases., Conclusion: The image is the gold standard for dermatological diagnosis. Currently, digital phototography gives us such a high image quality that, based on our experience, it can be stated that a neoplastic lesion that cannot be diagnosed by a high quality digital image with the available technology, rarely could be diagnosed in a face-to-face consult without the aid of complementary exams.

A study has been carried out of the local prevalence of depressive syndromes among users of health clinics in three rural towns of the Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha, by the application, following inclusion and exclusion criteria, of a psychometric filter scale (CET-DE, short form) and later psychiatric interviews to confirm the diagnosis and the validity of the scale. A local prevalence of 17.67% of depressive syndromes has been obtained among users and prevalence among the general public has been estimated at 6.59%. The scale has had a sensitivity of 0.96 and a specificity of 0.58, hence we conclude that it be considered useful in surgeries of Primary Health Care doctors (PHC). At the same time the possibility of using Chemists' Dispensaries for this type of studies is moot.