Pediatric teledermatology: Evaluation of a store-and-forward network in Ile-de-France from 2013 to 2022: Pediatric teledermatology, a store-and-forward network.

Abstract

Background: Teledermatology has been widely deployed over the past decade in France, becoming an indispensable tool in daily practice. Pediatric dermatology is a subspecialty of dermatology limited to a small number of specialists. In 2013, the Argenteuil Hospital developed a structured store-and-forward (SAF) service that is particularly well-suited for the field of pediatric dermatology. We report on our 10-year experience using the SAF approach in pediatric dermatology, focusing on the acceptability and efficiency of the service.

Method: All pediatric (<18 years) cases submitted to the SAF service from 2013 to 2022 were analyzed to evaluate SAF performance (refusals, response times, and information quality); patient demographics; pathologies (diagnostic certainty, types); and management.

Results: A total of 922 cases, from eight centers (six hospitals, two penitentiaries, and one health center) and 52 physicians, were analyzed. An increase in requests was noted over the years. No families refused to use the service. In 83 % and 94 % of cases, the quality of the photos and information was considered good or very good, respectively. The median response time was 1.5 h. The mean age of the children was 5 years (sex ratio: 1:1), with 26 % of cases involving newborns (<1 month). The median disease duration was 6 days (48 % <5 days). In 65 % of cases, the diagnosis was "certain," whereas in 34 % of cases a "diagnostic hypothesis" was made. Examinations were recommended in 35 % of cases and treatment was proposed in 62 % of cases. Dermatological follow-up was proposed in 32 % of cases.

Conclusion: Our 10-year review of the SAF network showed that this pediatric teledermatology service has been accepted by parents and physicians. The information transmitted was of high quality, although additional clarification requests were sometimes required. The service enabled rapid responses in the majority of cases, including a wide variety of situations: one-quarter of cases involved newborns and 48 % of cases involved recently developed dermatoses (<5 days) requiring urgent management. This pediatric dermatology SAF-based tele-expertise service was therefore shown to be efficient and very well accepted, and is currently being deployed among private practitioners.