Life-threatening skin diseases: Part I

Abstract

It is generally believed that the practice of dermatology no longer involves life-threatening conditions and that the horrific fate of sufferers of syphilis and leprosy is no more than a matter of historical interest. The present issue, Part I of two issues, of Clinics in Dermatology puts the record straight: dermatologists are not spared emergencies and conditions in which only prompt and early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment can make the difference between losing or saving the patient’s life. Indeed, it is not unreasonable to expect that dermatologists, be they in clinical practice or in referral centers, are the first physicians to examine patients for skin diseases that are potentially life threatening or are called for consultation about acute, severe, and serious systemic diseases in which related cutaneous lesions are an essential clue to diagnosis. We have recently been witnessing an ongoing and rapid shift from medical/clinical to surgical/cosmetic dermatology, but few dermatologists practice one specialty exclusively. Although dermatologists in clinical practice are not likely to be the primary care physicians responsible for severely ill patients in the hospital setting, still they are frequently the first clinicians to examine these patients before admission,