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Itch is a common clinical symptom and major driver of disease-related morbidity across a wide range of medical conditions. A substantial unmet need is for objective, accurate measurements of itch. In this article, we present a noninvasive technology to objectively quantify scratching behavior via a soft, flexible, and wireless sensor that captures the acousto-mechanic signatures of scratching from the dorsum of the hand. A machine learning algorithm validated on data collected from healthy subjects (n = 10) indicates excellent performance relative to smartwatch-based approaches. Clinical validation in a cohort of predominately pediatric patients (n = 11) with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis included 46 sleep-nights totaling 378.4 hours. The data indicate an accuracy of 99.0% (84.3% sensitivity, 99.3% specificity) against visual observation. This work suggests broad capabilities relevant to applications ranging from assessing the efficacy of drugs for conditions that cause itch to monitoring disease severity and treatment response.

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Introduction: Pruritus is a common symptom across various dermatologic conditions, with a negative impact on quality of life. Devices to quantify itch objectively primarily use scratch as a proxy. This review compares and evaluates the performance of technologies aimed at objectively measuring scratch behavior.Methods: Articles identified from literature searches performed in October 2020 were reviewed and those that did not report a primary statistical performance measure (eg, sensitivity, specificity) were excluded. The articles were independently reviewed by 2 authors. Results:The literature search resulted in 6231 articles, of which 24 met eligibility criteria. Studies were categorized by technology, with actigraphy being the most studied (n = 21). Wrist actigraphy's performance is poorer in pruritic patients and inherently limited in finger-dominant scratch detection. It has moderate correlations with objective measures (Eczema and Area Severity Index/Investigator's Global Assessment: r s (r) = 0.70-0.76), but correlations with subjective measures are poor (r 2 = 0.06, r s (r) = 0.18-0.40 for itch measured using a visual analog scale). This may be due to varied subjective perception of itch or actigraphy's underestimation of scratch. Conclusion:Actigraphy's large variability in performance and limited understanding of its specificity for scratch merits larger studies looking at validation of data analysis algorithms and device performance, particularly within target patient populations.

Background Social media platforms are increasingly used by patients to research and discuss medical problems. Objective The aim of this study was to identify by whom, how frequently, and in what manner allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is discussed on social media sites. Methods Search terms “allergic contact dermatitis” and “contact dermatitis” were queried across Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, YouTube, and Google search metrics. The frequency, content, and creators of the content were assessed. Results ACD content was identified on all platforms, generated by by patients, physicians, professional organizations, and companies. When comparing the volume of posts, more content was on Instagram than Twitter, particularly among patients. Patient support groups were identified on Facebook but not on Reddit. A formal analysis of YouTube videos found that the medical information presented in these videos was often of poor quality. Conclusions Patch testing physicians should be aware that information on ACD exists across social media sites. While some content is generated by physicians, patients and industry groups also post and share material. Patch testing physicians should know that there is an opportunity to share ACD information, but they should also be aware that patients are posting and creating online support communities independent of physicians. Highlights Online support communities exist for patients with ACD on Facebook. Online information is of lower quality, with a mean QUEST quality score of 7.4/28 on reviewed YouTube videos. Of the five social media sites reviewed, patients are most active on Instagram, Reddit, and Facebook. Approximately 9000 Google searches per month are conducted using contact dermatitis‐related search terms. Differences in terminology exist between physicians and non‐physicians. While the most popular hashtag term was “contact dermatitis”, physicians disproportionately authored posts tagged with “allergic contact dermatitis.”

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Black patients have greater odds of alopecia areata when compared to whites (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.37-2.28). 1 Few studies in the literature have examined the epidemiology of alopecia areata exclusively in Black patients, demonstrating an increased need for understanding in this area. To investigate the epidemiology of alopecia areata in Black patients, a retrospective analysis was conducted in 265 pediatric and adult patients diagnosed and treated for alopecia areata at Wake Forest Baptist Health between January 2015 and December 2020. Patients were assessed according to distribution by age, sex, medical and autoimmune comorbidities. 190 (71.7%) of patients were female (female-tomale ratio, 2.5:1). The largest age group presenting for care was the 18-34 year age group (35.8%) followed by the 10-17 year age group (15.1%). These results suggest a female predominance and increased prevalence of disease in younger patients. Further evaluation of epidemiology can provide greater understanding of alopecia areata in Black patients.