Remote Consultations for Monitoring Actinic Cheilitis: A Preliminary Non-Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of remote consultation for monitoring actinic cheilitis.

Materials and methods: A cross-over, non-randomized clinical trial comparing remote and in-person consultations for patients with actinic cheilitis. During the remote consultations, patients were interviewed and submitted clinical photos taken with smartphones. Local signs and symptoms were recorded, and examiners assessed whether a biopsy was indicated. Photos sent by patients were compared with those taken during the in-person visits.

Results: The study included 36 patients. The most frequent clinical presentation was plaques with erosive areas. Agreement between remote and in-person evaluations regarding clinical alterations was 97% or higher. In 11% of cases (n = 4), both examiners recommended biopsy. In only 2 cases (5.6%), the remote examiner considered an in-person consultation necessary. Photos taken by patients were rated as adequate in 88.6% of cases, compared to 97.1% for professional photos, with no statistically significant difference (p = 0.16).

Conclusion: Teledentistry showed promising results for the follow-up of actinic cheilitis and may help reduce healthcare costs. However, due to its potentially malignant nature, initial assessment must be performed by an oral medicine specialist to ensure appropriate diagnosis and management.