John Libbey Eurotext




Management of vitiligo patients and attitude of dermatologists towards vitiligo
European Journal of Dermatology. Volume 14, Number 3, 177-81, May - June 2004, Clinical report
Free Article
Author(s) : Katia ONGENAE, Nanny VAN GEEL, Sofie DE SCHEPPER, Yves VANDER HAEGHEN, Jean‐Marie NAEYAERT
Summary : As vitiligo does not cause any physical impairment, it is often considered unimportant by physicians. Vitiligo patients repeatedly experience disinterest from the medical world regarding their skin problem. A questionnaire survey was used to assess the management of vitiligo patients and the attitude of dermatologists towards vitiligo in Belgium. Vitiligo patients (n ∓ 244) visiting an academic affiliated dermatology department were included and 454 out of 558 Belgian dermatologists returned a mailed questionnaire. Vitiligo patients do not often visit a doctor concerning their disease and do not often treat their disease. Disease severity as reported by the patient is correlated with the number of doctor visits (p ∓ 0.001) but not to treatment of the disease. Information about the treatment and physician’s encouragement to treat seem important in motivating patients to treat their vitiligo, but 50% of the patients were not adequately informed about their disease and its treatment during their first doctor visit. Today, nearly all the dermatologists report widely informing their patients, but only 36% of them encourage their patients to treat their disease, being pessimistic concerning expected treatment results. Interestingly, two thirds of the patients who ever treated their disease find it worthwhile.
Keywords : management, treatment, vitiligo

Management of vitiligo patients and attitude of dermatologists towards vitiligo