Agreement between dermatological diagnoses made by live examination compared to analysis of digital images

Abstract

Background: Teledermatology is seldom used in Brazil, although some incipient initiatives have been implemented in the state of Amazonas. Further studies are still required to confirm the feasibility and efficacy of this diagnostic tool.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of an asynchronous method of teledermatology using simple, inexpensive technological resources.

Methods: One hundred and seventy-four patients were examined by four dermatologists, two clinic-based dermatologists, who diagnosed the patients following live examination (A1 and A2), and two consultant specialists in image dermatology, who reached diagnoses by examining images of the lesions and the patients' clinical histories (B1 and B2). The agreement between live examination and examination of images was evaluated.

Results: Agreement between the two live examiners (A1 and A2) with respect to the principal diagnosis was 83.3% compared to 81.0% between the physicians who diagnosed by examining images (B1 and B2). Agreement between the principal diagnosis established by live examination and that obtained from examining images ranged from 78.2% to 83.9%,

Conclusion: Agreement between diagnoses of dermatological diseases reached following examination of digital images and those reached following live examination of the patient was excellent.