Teledermatology (TD) may be a viable option for grading skin patch test reactions, particularly for clinicians who perform limited patch testing, according to a recent study. Patients undergoing patch testing to the North American Contact Dermatitis Group (NACDG) screening series participated in a repeated-measures study (n=101). Photographs of the NACDG screening series patch sites were obtained at 2 time points (48-hour and final readings). Teledermatology assessments were completed by the same staff dermatologist who performed the in-person (IP) readings; 48-hour and final TD photographs were viewed at weeks 4 and 8 after the IP encounter, respectively. Researchers found:

• There were 7,070 comparison points between IP and TD final readings.
• Excluding negative/negative agreement, there was "success" of TD in 54% of final readings.
• "Indeterminate" agreement with possible clinical significance was present in 40% of final readings.
• There was "failure" (definite clinical significance) in 6% of final readings.