How do you typically diagnose and treat an unknown rash?

In her session “Approach to the Unknown Rash,” Heather M. Murphy-Lavoie, MD, associate professor in the section of emergency medicine at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, will discuss why identifying and classifying a skin lesion is essential for better treatment.

“There are more than 3,000 recognized dermatologic diagnoses. Taking a systematic approach to the unknown rash can help an emergency physician narrow the diagnosis down to a few likely possibilities,” she said.

Dr. Murphy-Lavoie will discuss the role of rashes in viral exanthems, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, meningococcemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, varicella, toxic shock syndrome, Kawasaki disease, Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and erythroderma.

The presentation also will cover why initial impression is a key part of rash diagnosis and treatment because it can help the emergency physician spot the presence or absence of hypotension, tachycardia, fever, or mental status change. When these signs are present, they can signal that the rash is part of a higher-risk condition, Dr. Murphy-Lavoie said.

The session will cover critical steps necessary for rash management to reduce morbidity and mortality, she said.

Dr. Murphy-Lavoie will lead another session today titled “Dermatology Update 2015: New Treatment, Classic Conditions,” which will present new therapies for classic rashes and the evidence that supports the therapies, highlighting new publications from the 2014–2015 literature. Topics that Dr. Murphy-Lavoie will discuss include methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus antibiotics, drug reactions, pemphigus vulgaris, black tar heroin, Lyme disease, syphilis, and the measles outbreak earlier this year that originated at Disneyland.

Vanessa Caceres is a freelance medical writer based in Florida.

Dr. Murphy-Lavoie

Dermatology Update 2015: New Treatments, Classic Conditions

Monday, Oct. 26
11:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Room 104 ABC

Approach to the Unknown Rash

Monday, Oct. 26
4:30–5:30 p.m.
Room 205 ABC