Remote consultations for patients with hidradenitis suppurativa during the COVID-19 pandemic: a single-centre...

Remote dermatology consultations largely superseded face-to-face (FTF) consultations during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Remote examination of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) brings particular challenges, given the propensity of HS to affect intimate body areas. To understand the impact of remote consultations on the care of patients with HS, a retrospective analysis was conducted of all consultations from 2 April to 29 October 2020 at the HS clinic at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. In this group of patients with HS, 46.3% were black, compared with 7.0% of patients attending general dermatology clinics (P < 0.001). The majority (65.9%) of patients had previously received or were currently taking adalimumab. All consultations were performed by telephone and in 50.7% of the consultations, patients were assessed as having unstable (u)HS, with 81.1% of these uHS episodes leading to a change in pharmacological therapy. The decision-making process was aided by patient-submitted photographs at only 8.1% of consultations involving uHS, for reasons of patient privacy, comfort and data security. The data suggest that HS is an inherently unstable disease despite maximal medical therapy, and this study highlights important reasons for the assessment of patients with HS by FTF consultations where safely possible.