Diagnostic Challenges in Pediatric Dermatologic Presentations Among Pediatricians

To determine the most diagnostically challenging pediatric dermatology cases with respect to interpretation difficulty and diagnostic confusion.

This was a multi-center prospective cross-sectional study. A convenience sample of pediatric trainees and attendings was eligible. Using a web-based tool, physicians diagnosed 334 pediatric dermatology image-based cases. Participants assessed whether each case was concerning, selected one of nine morphologic categories, and chose one of 35 specific diagnoses. We extracted participant responses and analyzed the data using one-parameter item response theory.

We enrolled 242 pediatric postgraduate trainees (n = 105) and attendings (n = 137) who completed 38,502 observations. There was no difference in the mean interpretation difficulty logit score between the diagnostic assignment of concerning (-1.6) versus nonconcerning (-1.3) cases; difference -0.3 (95% CI: -0.8, 0.2). However, there were significant differences in difficulty scores between morphological types (p < 0.001) and specific diagnoses (p < 0.001). Vesiculobullous and papulosquamous were the most difficult morphologies to classify correctly, while vascular and purpuric/petechial were the easiest. The most challenging diagnoses were herpetic infections, bullous variants of impetigo, contact dermatitis, arthropod bites, and nonspecific viral exanthems. The easiest were injury-related bruising, pernio-COVID toes, and hemangiomas. There were 20/35 (57.1%) skin conditions that demonstrated relatively frequent confusion with other skin conditions, 12/20 (60%) of which would have implications for management.

This study provides a comprehensive data-driven assessment of diagnostic challenges in pediatric dermatology across morphologies and diagnoses. Substantial diagnostic difficulty and confusion were observed for numerous diagnoses, many with potential patient safety consequences.