CUSSION
This study was conducted in the search for
alternatives to ensure proper access to health care and
in partnership with non-specialist doctors from different
macro-regions of Santa Catarina. Its aim was to
analyze the compatibility index between the suspected
diagnosis of skin cancer made by basic care, and
the diagnosis proposed by teledermatology.
Moreover, we aimed at validating a protocol for standardizing
the obtention of digital images for telediagnosis
reports in dermatology.
Currently, CFM Resolution 1.643/2002 defines
and regulates the provision of services through
telemedicine. Telediagnosis in Dermatology is not yet
regulated in the Unified Healthcare System (SUS).
Santa Catarina is a pioneer in the use of teledermatology.
However, in order to guarantee the long-term
sustainability of the model, it has to be regulated by
CONITEC (National Commission for Technology
Incorporation in the SUS), a body of the ANVISA
(National Health Surveillance Agency).
This is a unique study that seeks to assist in the
improvement of the teledermatology system in the
State of Santa Catarina. Methodological efforts to
legitimize the results were undertaken.
First, the sampling census design used in this
study assured a valid number of participants to be
included in the investigation. Second, the quality of
data collection was assured by the standardization of
procedures, which was achieved through the provision
of trainings to the professionals of healthcare centers
in the state who were performing the tests, and
through the technology employed - an environment
exclusively created on the Internet for sending
patients´ data. Third, the use of protocols as an instrument
for objective data collection, together with predefined
procedures for the performance of photographs
of skin lesions, avoids vulnerabilities as interpretation
biases, confirming the verification of adequate
diagnosis. Fourth, the careful application of the
methodology generated 149 invalidations, leaving
only 184 requests to be analyzed.
Finally, the fact that the research was conducted
at the Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth of the
State Secretariat of Health was one of the strengths of
conducting this study, since the above-mentioned
environment is a reference environment in terms of
telemedicine in Santa Catarina.
In contrast, the recent implementation of teledermatology
care in the state, parallel to the fact that
we depend on a virtual environment software, caused
practical problems to the system. In addtion, we had
to deal with the inexperience of the technical teams
(even after training was provided), and with difficulRevista2Vol90ingles_Layout
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207 Piccoli MF, Amorim BDB, Wagner HM, Nunes DH
ties in the operation of the virtual program, which
resulted in a significant reduction in the total number
of requests sent to telediagnostics.
Regarding the number of invalidations, we
found that the highest rates occurred in the first
months. This result may be associated with the fact
that the system had been recently implemented, since
invalidations gradually reduced in the subsequent
months, indicating the adaptation of the team and
their learning of the technique. Moreover, it could
mean that these figures will decrease even more with
time. Corroborating the hypothesis, it is noteworthy
that the main reason for invalidation was due to sending
examinations which were not conducted in accordance
with the protocol, i.e., examinations whose
annulment occurred due to incorrect use of photography
techniques and/or data completion. The invalidation
rate later possibly reduced because the team
acquired more experience with the procedures.
Conversely, although in the early phase of
implementation of the system, the month of February
showed low rates of invalidations. This can be
explained by the lower amount of requests analyzed
by the specialist physician in these period.
In the case of the remaining group, the majority
of subjects were female. This result may be linked
to a higher demand for primary care services by this
population. Such supposition is supported by
Figueiredo and Pinheiro et al, who argue that women
are more concerned with their personal health.20 ,21
Another possibility may be related to the higher incidence
of skin cancer in the female population, since,
according to Azulay et al, BCC - which accounts for
70% of cases - and MM are slightly more frequent in
women.22
Most of the cases studied were white persons
(83.67%), including phototypes I, II and III, a factor
that most likely is related to the higher incidence of
skin cancer in people with lighter skin color. This
hypothesis is based on the literature, which supports
the direct relationship between skin cancer and skin
color, in the sense that the lighter the skin color, the
greater the frequency of occurrence of skin cancer.22-28
Nevertheless, another plausible explanation for the
high incidence of white people in the study is due to
the fact that the population of Santa Catarina is predominantly
light-skinned (84%), according to IBGE.29
As to the age group, the average age of subjects
was 54.9 years, which corroborates the data found by
other authors, like Ignatius et al and Nasser.30,31 This
can be explained by the cumulative action of ultraviolet
radiation on the skin over the years, a significant
risk factor for the development of skin cancer, according
to the authors mentioned before.
Turning to the diagnostic suspicions sent by the
primary care network, we found that most referrals
(71.74%) were suspicions of BCC. One possible explanation
for this is the high prevalence of this type of
cancer in the population, as studies by Azulay et al,
Chinem & Miot and the National Cancer Institute
(INCA) report. These studies state that BCC corresponds
to 70% of all skin neoplasias.22,32,33 Moreover, the
fact that this type of cancer is considered the most frequent
in the literature may lead non-specialists to generalize
suspected cases in the case of diagnostic doubt,
also increasing the number of referrals due to BCC.
With respect to the SCC, the total number of
referrals, compared to BCC and MM, was significantly
lower (4.89%), which confirms the epidemiology
found in the literature, according to studies by Azulay
et al., Nasser and Nunes et al.22,32,34 This can be
explained by the difficulty faced by the non-specialist
physician in distinguishing between BCC and SCC, as
they are considered as one another´s main differential
diagnoses, according to Azulay et al.22 Moreover, as
already said before, when uncertain about the diagnosis,
the general practitioner may have opted for the one
known to be more common, which possibly reduced
the incidence of suspected SCC. Likewise, the fact that
the incidence of suspected MM in this study does not
agree with the literature, may result in significant
reduction of referrals due to SCC, since the INCA and
Dimatos et al33,35 state that the frequency of melanoma
accounts for around 4%, while in the present study
23.37% of the reports were sent as suspected MM.
Thus, with respect to MM, as already discussed
above, the number of referrals was incongruent with
the current literature.33,35 This possibly occurred due to
the difficulty of the non-specialist physician in distinguishing
between malignant lesions and lesions with
benign features, given that MM is a tumor originating
from melanocytes which develops, in most cases,
from a preexisting nevus, i.e., possibly even before a
nevus with changes that do not characterize malignancy,
the general practitioner classifies it as MM.22
However, sensitivity was found to be 75%, which is a
reasonable value. This information deserves further
reflection, though, since it should be taken into
account that the high number of referrals as suspected
MM, in association with the low prevalence of the disease,
increases the ods of diagnostic compatibility.
Likewise, MM specificity may be related to this
hypothesis, since in 40 cases of suspected MM, no
compatibility was observed.