Farida Benhadou
Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic debilitating skin disease with a diagnostic delay of 7 years. The general practitioner (GP) is often the first physician consulted by the HS patients, and often provide the initial treatment.
Early diagnosis by GP is of major importance and may help to better control the course of the disease.
Aim: To describe GP’s recognition and management of HS.
Methods: GPs in Belgium and Denmark were invited to complete a questionnaire constructed to describe general knowledge about HS.
Results: 103 Belgian and 51 Danish participated. Demographic characteristics were similar in both groups.
Danish GPs estimated the disease to be more common: 0%/21.6% Belgian/Danish GPs seeing more than 20 patients with HS per week and conversely 28.2%/3.9% seeing no patients with HS per week.
Belgian GPs were less likely to consider HS a chronic disease than the Danish GPs (41.7%/84.3%), and antibiotics were more commonly associated with HS by Danish GPs (31.4% versus 3.9%).
Interestingly, Belgian and Danish GPs consider HS as an inflammatory (respectively 44.7%/58.8%) but also as an infectious disease (respectively 62.1%/64.7%).
Conclusions: The early diagnosis and a correct management is a crucial step to improve the prognosis of the disease. This pilot study has attempted to assess the general knowledge about HS of Belgian and Danish GPs.
Important differences have appeared, suggesting a need for more information to facilitate the management of the patients. A multidisciplinary approach is suggested for the management of this often debilitating disease.
Our pilot study evaluates for the first time the knowledge of GPs about Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Unfortunately the disease is often misdiagnosed and we have reported a mean diagnosis delay of 7 years.
An early diagnosis by GPs could greatly improve the course and the management of the disease.
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