Hywel Williams

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..Such new knowledge only has value if it is shared and used...

..Our team applied this tool to an ongoing trial (BLISTER) to determine whether the initial suggestion among some team members that the trial could be described as largely pragmatic was the consensus...

..Future challenges include optimizing the use of research resources, adopting methodological developments in health technology assessment, and prospective registration and complete reporting of all study results...

..New research is needed into the therapeutic comparative effectiveness and safety of the many products available, and to better understand the natural history, subtypes, and triggers of acne...

..Most of the reporting problems could have been avoided by use of the CONSORT guidelines and prospective trial registration on a public clinical trials database...

..2. To ascertain if certain phenotypic features and gene polymorphisms predict tumour responsiveness to treatment...

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..This paper introduces the new National Library for Health Skin Conditions Specialist Library http://www.library.nhs.uk/skin...

..Our objective was to assess the validity of ISAAC and UK Working Party criteria for field diagnosis of eczema in children...

..Collectively, these observations underline the importance of epidemiologic studies conducted at a population level to gain a more balanced understanding of the enigma of atopic dermatitis...

..Collectively, they illustrate the many ways in which conflicts can pervade the world of dermatology publications and patient support group activities...

..It is unclear whether eczema prevalence is truly increasing worldwide...

..Future trials need to be larger, and include active comparators, patient-reported outcomes and longer-term aspects of disease control. They should be better reported, and registered on a public clinical trials register...

..A review of 13 studies of probiotics for treating established eczema did not show convincing evidence of a clinically worthwhile benefit, an observation that has been substantiated in a subsequent Cochrane Review...

..A review of four economic studies from the US found that the annual cost of AE in the States was as high as $3.8 billion when indirect costs are included...

..The CONSORT statement evolves as empirical research moves on. CONSORT 2010 is even clearer than before and includes some new items with a particular emphasis on selective reporting of outcomes. The challenge is for everyone to use it...

..Novel findings include the demonstration of higher eczema prevalence along the East Coast. The study correlates well with previous reports and may help point to environmental factors that contribute to the development of eczema...

..Little guidance is available in the biomedical literature on how to deal with such comments...

..The Cochrane Skin Group aims to become the best source of unbiased external evidence for summarizing the effects of dermatological care...

..Future research gaps include evaluation of gene-environment interactions, better studies of the natural history of AD, and better clinical trials that answer questions that are important to physicians and their patients...

..Cellulitis (erysipelas) of the leg is a common, painful infection of the skin and underlying tissue. Repeat episodes are frequent, cause significant morbidity and result in high health service costs...

..The benefits of this selective sampling method are not limited to tissue imaging however; it is expected that the method may be applied to other techniques which employ point-by-point mapping of large substrates...

..This was the first trial to be undertaken by the UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network. As such, it was the first to test a recruitment model that involved many busy clinicians each contributing just a few patients...

..Although eczema affects 2-20% of children worldwide, there is little direct evidence on the role of environmental factors in disease flares...

..Possible exacerbating factors are a major concern of parents of children with atopic eczema (AE). However, there is minimal evidence for their direct role in leading to disease flares...

..This method has the potential to reduce recall bias. We report on our experience in the use of electronic diaries in a panel study of children with eczema...

..Many interventions have been described for inherited epidermolysis bullosa (EB), but it is unclear which are beneficial...

..Validity has been demonstrated in single and multicentre clinical trials, although data on the reliability of the index have not previously been published...

..Questionnaires are widely used in epidemiological studies to measure eczema symptom prevalence, but there are concerns regarding their accuracy if used as a diagnostic tool...

..01)--dermatology, R=0.68; ear-nose-throat R=0.78; trauma/orthopaedics (R=0.64). These were the three with the longest lists. These results help to explain why initiatives to shorten waiting lists are commonly ineffective in the long term...

..Further validation is required with respect to use in older children, administration by researchers/health professionals and development as a wholly questionnaire-based assessment...

..The long-term prognosis of childhood eczema may be worse than some previous studies have suggested, especially when subsequent recurrences are taken into account...

..Although few would dispute the benefit of systemic antibiotics in people with overtly clinically infected eczema, the clinical role of S. aureus in causing inflammatory flares in clinically uninfected eczema is less clear...

..Flares of eczema are attributed to many factors, often with minimal scientific evidence...

..This study highlights the need for provision of better information and education to patients and possibly general practitioners regarding the safety, potency and appropriate use of topical corticosteroids...

..To determine whether installation of an ion-exchange water softener in the home could improve atopic eczema in children and, if so, to establish its likely cost and cost-effectiveness...

..The replacement of current histopathology during MMS by a "generalization" of the proposed technique may improve the feasibility and efficacy of MMS, leading to a wider use according to clinical need...

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..A definitive evaluation is now being conducted to determine whether PEPS therapy is a clinically and cost-effective treatment for people with personality disorder..

..Meta-analysis provided strongest evidence for association around ZNF804A (P = 1.61 x 10(-7)) and this strengthened when the affected phenotype included bipolar disorder (P = 9.96 x 10(-9))...

..It is planned that recruitment will be completed by the end of 2008 and results will be available towards the end of 2009...

..The extent to which the phenotype of atopic dermatitis (AD) is truly atopic has been the subject of much debate...

..There is wide variation in the objective visual variables used to measure atopic eczema severity in clinical trials, making comparison and interpretation of results difficult...

..More emphasis should be placed on measuring things that are important to patients such as symptoms and quality of life...

..Their impact on service delivery within dermatology may be useful in relation to chronic diseases, where education and treatment concordance are important factors in disease management...

..50, 95% CI 0.19-10.81) and end of treatment (MD 6.10, 95% CI 0.06-12.14). Despite their frequent use, we find little good quality evidence to support the use of exclusion diets in atopic eczema...

..CONCLUSION: A short burst of a potent topical corticosteroid is just as effective as prolonged use of a milder preparation for controlling mild or moderate atopic eczema in children...

..Low levels of acne knowledge and poor acne management are concerns that could be amenable to a school-based education programme...

..To investigate aspects of the natural history of hidradenitis...

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..To assess the quality of reporting in observational studies in dermatology...

..To assess the effects of treatments for basal cell carcinoma...

..This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an interactive multimedia intervention "Skinsafe" on patients' knowledge about melanoma and on their skin protective behaviors...

..The so-called 'hygiene hypothesis' postulates an inverse relationship between atopic dermatitis (AD) and an environment that leads to increased pathogen exposure...

..We report a sericin-free silk (DermaSilk), which is treated with AEGIS AEM5772/5, a product that has antibacterial properties, and evaluate its use in the treatment of AD...

..Greater understanding of the efficacy of these home treatments will give doctors a wider choice of treatment options, and may help to reduce the overall demand for cryotherapy in primary care...

..Assessment of symptoms or disease improvement by study participants is an important aspect of assessing new dermatological therapies in clinical trials, especially for chronic skin diseases that lack objective severity markers...

..To develop a simple, valid, repeatable, and readily understandable patient-oriented assessment measure for monitoring disease activity in children and adults with atopic eczema...

..To systematically search, summarize, and critically appraise the literature to examine whether pet exposure in early life is associated with an increased risk of eczema...

..To determine the efficacy and tolerability of topical pimecrolimus and tacrolimus compared with other treatments for atopic dermatitis...

..The association between allergic sensitization and eczema has been debated for years...

..To make preliminary recommendations for defining a flare of atopic dermatitis (AD) in clinical research based on a systematic review of the literature and experience in running clinical trials...

..A cutoff point of 78 kU/l had the highest positive predictive value for visible eczema at 5 years of age of 28.6%, with a sensitivity of 12% and specificity of 95%...

..In this article we describe the usefulness and limits of the NNT with particular reference to dermatology, and compare NNT with other relative measures such as the relative risk and relative risk reduction...

..INTERPRETATION: Topical benzoyl peroxide and benzoyl peroxide/erythromycin combinations are similar in efficacy to oral oxytetracycline and minocycline and are not affected by propionibacterial antibiotic resistance...

..The use of review databases for dermatology has been questioned because of the impression that these reviews frequently report finding insufficient evidence to guide therapeutic recommendations...

..Valid and reliable outcome measurements are a prerequisite for evidence-based practice. The comparative validity and reliability of outcome measurements for assessing atopic eczema (AE) severity is unclear...

..It is assumed that as knowledge about basic causes and mechanisms improves, the nomenclature will need further review...

..The role of pulsed dye lasers (PDL) in the treatment of childhood haemangiomas is controversial. Our aim was to compare treatment with PDL with a wait-and-see policy...