It is hard to compete with the Annual Meeting.
From the Editor
Dr. Schwarzenberger is the former physician editor of DermWorld.
By Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD, FAAD, March 1, 2024
Seriously, getting together with friends and colleagues, being able to pick from hundreds of talks given by expert speakers from all over the world, hearing from leadership about the “state of the dermatology union,” and Captain Kirk (well, William Shatner!) all in one beautiful location…what could be better? Well, perhaps we cannot be better than the Annual Meeting, but our writers have put together a dynamic magazine this month that should easily compete for your attention!
It is so exciting to (finally) have effective medical treatments for vitiligo! For years, it seemed like we had few options to offer our patients with this potentially psychologically devastating condition, but now we have an FDA-approved topical therapy, ruxolitinib, available with others in the pipeline. As is the case with so many of our most challenging diseases, we owe a debt of gratitude to our colleague scientists who work so diligently both to understand these diseases, as well as to imagine new treatments for them. Our feature article highlights these new advances, but also reminds us of the critically important role physicians still play, understanding where and when these medications work, which patients are most likely to respond, and when treatments might be used together for optimal effect. The art of medicine is still as important as the science!
This holds true when caring for our patients on checkpoint inhibitors. These new cancer wonder drugs have given us the ability to manage some of our most devastating malignancies but, as with many cancer treatments, are not without potentially significant side effects. Our feature article on cutaneous complications of immune checkpoint inhibitors will hopefully help you feel more comfortable recognizing and managing these challenging rashes. The good news is that not all these rashes are bad, and some may portend a better therapeutic response for those affected.
Drug reactions like these are exactly why our specialty needs dermatology hospitalists. While many of us in academia have long provided care to inpatients with dermatologic conditions, it took the insight of several of our wise colleagues to recognize the importance — and value — of focused expertise in managing the complex skin conditions we see in these patients. The concept of the dermatology hospitalist has grown over the past ~15 years from a few interested dermatologists to what is now a small army of very dedicated physicians who provide care primarily for inpatients. They have also been busy advancing the knowledge base of inpatient dermatologic care. This benefits our patients, as well as our specialty, as these docs interact with other disciplines to remind them how unique and important dermatology really is!
I was reminded as I read this month’s DermWorld just how tough it is to be a physician. Not only do we have to learn our voluminous core material in the first place, but we must keep up with a knowledge base that seems to be growing at an exponential rate. Our patients’ lives depend on us getting it right. We encounter humanity at some of its highest and lowest moments, and when faced with the latter, often postpone addressing our own reactions and feelings about the situation to provide necessary care to our patients. Too often, we keep moving forward, never acknowledging the impact that our patients’ pain and suffering might have on us. My sincere appreciation to all of you who keep going in service to your patients. Please be kind to yourself, and do not forget to care of yourselves in addition to those you care for.
