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Telemedicine involves distant exchange of medical information between health providers and patients via a telecommunication device with/without the aid of an audiovisual interactive assistance. The current COVID 19 pandemic impact on health services mandated an utmost readiness to implement telemedicine which in part is dependent on health care providers willingness to adopt such platforms. The aim of this cross sectional study was to assess knowledge and attitude toward telemedicine Egyptian dermatologists amidst the COVID 19 pandemic. A cross sectional study was designed and data were collected using structured self-administered online questionnaires. Dermatologists had a good knowledge about telemedicine (mean 4.17 ± 1.63; p <.05). Of those completing the questionnaire, 193 (68.9%) were familiar with the term 'telemedicine' and 164 (58.6%) were familiar with tools like teleconferencing. The majority of responding dermatologists 227 (81.1%) were confident that the COVID 19 pandemic is a good opportunity to start applying telemedicine protocols however the majority 234 (83.6%) preferred using it on trial basis at first before full implementation. In conclusion an overall good attitude toward telemedicine was reported with a mean of 3.39 (p <.05). Further large scale studies are required to verify such findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a prevalent skin condition especially in the Middle Eastern region. The use of pulsed dye laser (PDL) for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) has not been thoroughly evaluated. We assessed primarily the efficacy of 595-nm PDL in the treatment of CL lesions and interpreted its impact on the quality of life (QOL) of affected patients as measured by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Patients and methods: Twenty-five lesions from 12 patients were treated with a single pass of PDL over the whole lesions to develop a purpuric end point. Parameters used for this treatment were 7 J/cm2 fluence, 10-mm spot size, and 0.45-ms pulse duration. The laser settings were maintained in all subsequent treatments. Results: Excellent response was noted in 13 of the 25 lesions after 3 sessions, while 12 of the remaining 25 lesions required 4 sessions toward complete recovery. The mean DLQI scores pre- and post-laser treatments were 12.67 and 4.25, respectively. All patients experienced a statistically significant improvement in their QOL (p < 0.05, paired t-test). Conclusion: The PDL is a new safe modality for treating cases of CL with further larger-scale studies could better determine its role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]