Dr Angela Tewari highlights diagnostic challenges and treatment strategies for rosacea in patients with SOC
Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis with a relapsing-remitting course, characterised by facial flushing, persistent papules and pustules, telangiectasia and, in many cases, ocular involvement affecting both the eyelids and ocular surface.¹ A 2020 expert review involving 19 dermatologists first identified a lack of robust clinical guidance on the assessment of patient satisfaction with rosacea therapies and how we should focus on treatment of those nonvisible symptoms: burning, stinging and dryness.¹ Together with the diagnostic challenges in patients with darker skin, this probably contributes to the lower incidence reported in the literature.²
The estimated global prevalence of rosacea is 5.46%, of which only 0.8% occurs in patients with skin of colour (SOC).³ In SOC, subtle erythema may be difficult to appreciate and is frequently misdiagnosed as eczema (dermatitis) or acne in…
