Exploration photodermatologique en France. Enquête de la Société Française de Photodermatologie

Contribution of phototesting in the diagnosis of photodermatoses: Retrospective study of 100 cases

“…The patients who are often very impacted by the disease are clearly satisfied to be able to get a diagnosis with these tests all the more so as they have usually been waiting for accurate answers for a long time 11,12 . The diagnosis remained undetermined in only one-quarter of cases, which is in accordance with previously published data 5,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] . Undetermined diagnoses were F I G U R E 1 Phototesting results (total number of patients: 98) usually due to the lack of anamnestic and clinical data and negative phototesting.…”

“…The delay of 7.5 years between the first symptoms and the diagnoses in our series shows the difficulties in accessing phototesting in France. Today, fewer and fewer centers in France are provided in photobiological equipment 5 . Many reasons can explain that the cost is high, the wide size of the machine requires large consulting rooms, a large amount of time is required for both physicians and patients, and finally, the cost valuation by the health protection system is low in France.…”

“…It can also be useful when it is negative in the diagnosis of photoexacerbated atopic dermatitis. However, fewer and fewer medical centers in France are equipped with photobiological equipment 5 .…”