Bridging the gap through telemedicine: Pilot study on the acceptance and use of teledermatology for urticaria
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Background: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) significantly impairs patients' quality of life. Despite advances in diagnosis and therapy, treatment is still unsatisfactory. Telemedicine offers a promising solution to improve treatment. This pilot study assesses the acceptability and utilization of a digital health model for CSU, examines its impact on disease management, and identifies technical challenges. Patients and Methods: In this prospective pilot study, CSU patients at a university hospital in Germany were included. Over 12 months, participants interacted with physicians via a telemedicine platform, which was the study‐specific intervention. After each three‐month digital visit, symptoms and quality of life were assessed using electronic patient reported outcomes (ePROs) and online questionnaires. In the end, patients and doctors rated the overall satisfaction, the user‐friendliness of the platform and the technical challenges. Results: 24 patients completed the study. The majority (92%) reported that the digital concept could be a promising alternative to traditional consultations. Analysis from baseline to end of study revealed that disease control remained stable while quality of life improved. All physicians found the digital application reliable and time‐saving. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility and high acceptance of a digital health model for the management of CSU. Further research with larger cohorts is needed and planned to determine broader applicability.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)-a simple practical measure for routine clinical use
Finlay, A. Y., & KHAN, G. K. (1994) · Clinical and Experimental Dermatology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2230.1994.tb01167.x · Cited by 5,610 · see citing works
Sample size of 12 per group rule of thumb for a pilot study
Julious, S. A. (2005) · Pharmaceutical Statistics · doi:10.1002/pst.185 · Cited by 3,068 · see citing works
Evaluating barriers to adopting telemedicine worldwide: A systematic review
Scott Kruse, C., Karem, P., Shifflett, K., Vegi, L., Ravi, K., & Brooks, M. (2018) · Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare · doi:10.1177/1357633x16674087 · Cited by 1,735 · see citing works
Zuberbier, T., Aberer, W., Asero, R., Latiff, A. H. A., Baker, D. R., Ballmer-Weber, B. K., Bernstein, J. A., Bindslev‐Jensen, C., Brzoza, Z., Bedrikow, R. B., et al. (2018) · Allergy · doi:10.1111/all.13397 · Cited by 1,479 · see citing works
On the use of a pilot sample for sample size determination
Browne, R. H. (1995) · Statistics in Medicine · doi:10.1002/sim.4780141709 · Cited by 1,007 · see citing works
Maurer, M., Weller, K., Bindslev-Jensen, C., Giménez-Arnau, A., Bousquet, P. J., Bousquet, J., Canonica, G. W., Church, M. K., Godse, K. V., Grattan, C. E. H., et al. (2011) · Allergy · doi:10.1111/j.1398-9995.2010.02496.x · Cited by 843 · see citing works
Meyerowitz-Katz, G., Ravi, S., Arnolda, L., Feng, X., Maberly, G., & Astell-Burt, T. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/20283 · Cited by 561 · see citing works
10 Years Experience of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)
Lewis, V. J., & Finlay, A. Y. (2004) · Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings · doi:10.1111/j.1087-0024.2004.09113.x · Cited by 478 · see citing works
Weller, K., Groffik, A., Church, M. K., Hawro, T., Krause, K., Metz, M., Martus, P., Casale, T. B., Staubach, P., & Maurer, M. (2014) · Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2013.12.1076 · Cited by 419 · see citing works
Epidemiology of urticaria: a representative cross-sectional population survey
Zuberbier, T., Balke, M. W., Worm, M., Edenharter, G., & Maurer, M. (2010) · Clinical and Experimental Dermatology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2230.2010.03840.x · Cited by 365 · see citing works
Teledermatology for the Diagnosis and Management of Skin Cancer: A Systematic Review
Finnane, A., Dallest, K., Janda, M., & Soyer, H. P. (2017) · JAMA Dermatology · doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2016.4361 · Cited by 257 · see citing works
New treatments for chronic urticaria
Kolkhir, P., Altrichter, S., Muñoz, M., et al. (2019) · Annals of Allergy Asthma & Immunology · doi:10.1016/j.anai.2019.08.014 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Curto‐Barredo, L., Archilla, L., Vives, G., et al. (2018) · Acta Dermato Venereologica · doi:10.2340/00015555-2941 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Psychiatric comorbidity in chronic urticaria patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Konstantinou, G. N., & Konstantinou, G. N. (2019) · Clinical and Translational Allergy · doi:10.1186/s13601-019-0278-3 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Wertenteil, S., Strunk, A., & Garg, A. X. (2019) · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2019.02.064 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Stress, pseudoallergens, autoimmunity, infection and inflammation in chronic spontaneous urticaria
Bansal, C. J., & Bansal, A. S. (2019) · Allergy Asthma and Clinical Immunology · doi:10.1186/s13223-019-0372-z · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Knapp, A., Harst, L., Hager, S., Schmitt, J. M., & Scheibe, M. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/30042 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Frühauf, J., Schwantzer, G., Ambros‐Rudolph, C. M., Weger, W., Ahlgrimm‐Siess, V., Salmhofer, W., & Hofmann‐Wellenhof, R. (2012) · Australasian Journal of Dermatology · doi:10.1111/j.1440-0960.2011.00852.x · Cited by 80 · see citing works
A Review of International Recommendations for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Urticaria
Beck, L. A., Bernstein, J., & Maurer, M. (2016) · Acta Dermato Venereologica · doi:10.2340/00015555-2496 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Teledermatology: Comparison of Store-and-Forward Versus Live Interactive Video Conferencing
Brinker, T. J., Hekler, A., Kalle, C. V., Schadendorf, D., Eßer, S., Berking, C., Zacher, M. T., Sondermann, W., Grabe, N., Steeb, T., et al. (2018) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/11871 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Teledermatology in the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review
Loh, C. H., Tam, S. Y. C., & Oh, C. C. (2021) · JAAD International · doi:10.1016/j.jdin.2021.07.007 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Urticaria: A comprehensive review
Antia, C., Baquerizo, K. L., Korman, A. M., et al. (2018) · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2018.01.023 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Maurer, M., Houghton, K., Costa, C., et al. (2018) · World Allergy Organization Journal · doi:10.1186/s40413-018-0216-1 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Cost Minimization Analysis of a Teledermatology Triage System in a Managed Care Setting
Zakaria, A., Miclau, T. A., Maurer, T. A., Leslie, K. S., & Amerson, E. H. (2020) · JAMA Dermatology · doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.4066 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Augustin, M., Wimmer, J., Biedermann, T., Blaga, R., Dierks, C., Djamei, V., Elmer, A., Elsner, P. U., Enk, A., Gass, S., et al. (2018) · JDDG Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft · doi:10.1111/ddg.13512 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citationPatients with Chronic Urticaria Remain Largely Undertreated: Results from the DERMLINE Online Survey
Wagner, N., Zink, A., Hell, K., Reinhardt, M., Romer, K., Hillmann, E., Baeumer, D., & Schielein, M. C. (2021) · Dermatology and Therapy · doi:10.1007/s13555-021-00537-5 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Self-citationWeller, K., Viehmann, K., Bräutigam, M., Krause, K., Siebenhaar, F., Zuberbier, T., & Maurer, M. (2012) · JDDG: Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft · doi:10.1111/j.1610-0387.2011.07822.x · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Mustafa, S. S., Vadamalai, K., & Ramsey, A. C. (2021) · The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology In Practice · doi:10.1016/j.jaip.2021.01.036 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Patient satisfaction with a new skin cancer teledermatology service
Nicholson, P., Macedo, C., Fuller, C., et al. (2020) · Clinical and Experimental Dermatology · doi:10.1111/ced.14191 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Asabor, E. N., Bunick, C. G., Cohen, J. M., et al. (2020) · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2020.09.029 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Choi, E. C.-E., Heng, L. W., Tan, S. Y., Phan, P., & Chandran, N. S. (2022) · JAAD International · doi:10.1016/j.jdin.2021.12.005 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Teledermatology in times of COVID‐19
Stadler, P., Senner, S., Frey, S., Clanner-Engelshofen, B. M., Frommherz, L. H., French, L. E., & Reinholz, M. (2021) · The Journal of Dermatology · doi:10.1111/1346-8138.15812 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Patient Factors Associated with Interest in Teledermatology: Cross-sectional Survey
Ghani, M., Adler, C. H., & Yeung, H. (2021) · JMIR Dermatology · doi:10.2196/21555 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Lascialfari, G., Sarti, L., Barni, S., et al. (2022) · Allergologia et Immunopathologia · doi:10.15586/aei.v50isp2.722 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Balp, M., Chambenoit, O., Chiva-Razavi, S., Lynde, C., Sussman, G., Chapman-Rothe, N., Weller, K., Maurer, M., Koenders, J., Knulst, A., et al. (2015) · Value in Health · doi:10.1016/j.jval.2015.09.592 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Teledermatologie in den Zeiten von COVID‐19 – ein systematisches Review
Elsner, P. U. (2020) · JDDG Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft · doi:10.1111/ddg.14180_g · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Schielein, M. C., Tizek, L., Baeumer, D., Hillmann, E., Romer, K., Wagner, N., & Zink, A. (2021) · The Journal of Dermatology · doi:10.1111/1346-8138.15740 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citationPathania, Y. S. (2023) · Clinical Dermatology Review · doi:10.4103/cdr.cdr_101_21 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Hindelang, M., Zink, A., Knitza, J., Darkow, R., Welcker, M., Biedermann, T., May, S., & Muehlensiepen, F. (2025) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-025-13043-7 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“The newest innovative approaches using digital tools, including tele-dermatology, mobile health apps, and remote monitoring tools like wearables or chatbots, could improve access to care and support self-management [23–26].”
InfluentialSelf-citation
- Authors
- Hindelang, M., Sitaru, S., Fischer, C., Biedermann, T., & Zink, A.
- Affiliations
- Institut für Medizinische Informationsverarbeitung, Biometrie und Epidemiologie (DE)
- Technical University of Munich (DE)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Hindelang, Michael
- Venue
- JDDG: Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2024-10-20
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 40-52
- ISSN
- 1610-0379 (ISSN-L)
- 1610-0387
- PMC
- PMC11711928
- OpenAlex
- W4403615208
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4
- FWCI
- 2.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- de
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- JDDG Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Novartis Pharma
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rheumatology › Urticaria and Related Conditions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Keywords
- chronic spontaneous urticaria, teledermatology, telemedicine, digital health, patient acceptance, quality of life, electronic patient-reported outcomes, teleconsultation, disease management, physician satisfaction, technical challenges
- MeSH terms
- Chronic Urticaria, Adult, Aged, Dermatology, Female, Germany, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Pilot Projects, Prospective Studies, Quality of Life, Patient Satisfaction, Telemedicine
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
