TM interventions seem to be a very promising tool for the long-term management of patients with psoriasis, leading to an increased compliance to therapy, positive changes in self-care behaviours and better patient-physician relationship allowing improved clinical outcomes and better control of the disease.

Psoriasis is a common disease, which has a considerable impact on the healthcare system. Therefore, appropriate use of therapeutic resources is very important. Management of psoriasis in daily clinical practice is highly variable because many issues are still debated and not definitely addressed by the evidence-based medicine. Moreover, the different availability and reimbursability of drugs in each country justifies national guidelines. Expert consensus can provide helpful guidelines for optimizing patient care. A total of 20 dermatologists from different areas of Italy and with large experience in the treatment of psoriasis agreed to participate in the guidelines expert panel who aimed to reach consensus on the factors influencing psoriasis severity, the indications for systemic treatments, the parameters to be considered in the choice of treatment, and the factors to be considered in the choice of biological treatment. The recommendations for the use, screening and monitoring of systemic therapies were based on the 2015 S3 European Dermatology Forum/European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology psoriasis guidelines. Recommendations on the treatment of psoriasis in special patient populations were also agreed. The final document was discussed in a meeting moderated by a facilitator with participation of the entire group and adopting a nominal group technique to reach consensus. A statement was regarded as consented when agreement was achieved by at least 75% of the voting experts according to the Delphi procedure.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that predominantly affects children. However, it can persist in adulthood and/or start at older ages. Due to its chronic nature and frequently occurring relapses, AD has a substantial effect on patients' quality of life, often requiring long-term systemic treatment, especially in adult patients, who are more frequently refractory to adequate topical treatment with mid- to high-potent corticosteroids and/or calcineurin inhibitors. Therefore, treatment with systemic therapies is often needed to take control of the disease, prevent exacerbations and improve quality of life. However, data regarding systemic treatment effectiveness and long-term safety in adult patients with AD are insufficient. Indeed, standardized international guidelines are lacking, and the treatment approach widely differs among diverse countries. This review focuses on the use of systemic treatments in adult AD patients analyzing published literature.

While a number of allergens shows limited variation across the four regions, such as Myroxylon pereirae (5.3-6.8%), cobalt chloride (6.2-8.8%) or thiuram mix (1.7-2.4%), the differences observed with other allergens may hint on underlying differences in exposures, for example: dichromate 2.4% in the UK (west) versus 4.5-5.9% in the remaining EU regions, methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone 4.1% in the South versus 2.1-2.7% in the remaining regions. Conclusions: Notwithstanding residual methodological variation (affecting at least some 'difficult' allergens) tackled by ongoing efforts for standardization, a comparative analysis as presented provides (i) a broad overview on contact allergy frequencies and (ii) interesting starting points for further, in-depth investigation.

Background. The pattern of contact sensitization to the supposedly most important allergens assembled in the baseline series differs between countries, presumably at least partly because of exposure differences. Objectives. To describe the prevalence of contact sensitization to allergens tested in consecutive patients in the years 2007 and 2008, and to discuss possible differences. Methods. Data from the 39 departments in 11 European countries comprising the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergy network (http://www.essca-dc.org) in this period have been pooled and analysed according to common standards. Results. Patch test results with the European baseline series, and country‐specific or department‐specific additions to it, obtained in 25 181 patients, showed marked international variation. Metals and fragrances are still the most frequent allergens across Europe. Some allergens tested nationally may be useful future additions to the European baseline series, for example methylisothiazolinone, whereas a few long‐term components of the European baseline series, namely primin and clioquinol, no longer warrant routine testing. Conclusions. The present analysis points to ‘excess’ prevalences of specific contact sensitization in some countries, although interpretation must be cautious if only few, and possibly specialized, centres are representing one country. A comparison as presented may help to target in‐depth research into possible causes of ‘excess’ exposure, and/or consideration of methodological issues, including modifications to the baseline series.