Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2011

Mentor: Dr. Amit Pandya        
Department: Dermatology
Room number: HQ3.315B      
Mail Code: MC-9190              
Phone number: (214) 648-5771                      
E-mail: Amit.Pandya@utsouthwestern.edu
                       
Project title: A randomized, controlled, evaluator-blinded study to evaluate the efficacy of dilute bleach baths on skin disease control in pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis.     
Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): 012010-059       
Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): N/A

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects) PATIENT-BASED RESEARCH

Brief Description of Project:
Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disorder with a lifetime prevalence of approximately 20%. It can cause significant skin discomfort, pruritis, and sleep disturbances, in addition to emotional and psychological problems. While most patients with AD have mild diseases, moderate to severe exacerbations of the disease are common and are often related to superinfection of involved skin. Patients with AD have high rates of skin colonization with Staphylococcus aureus. Bathing in dilute bleach baths is an inexpensive, well-tolerated treatment which can be easily incorporated into a patient’s weekly routine and can improve outcome. This study is a randomized, investigator-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Forty pediatric patients ages 2 to 17 years with moderate to severe AD as rated by the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) will be recruited for this 3-month study. Enrollment for this study began in December 2010, but as of March 18, 2011, only 20 patients who meet the criteria have been enrolled. It is predicted that enrollment will not be complete until at least June 2011. Consequently, the last sets of data will not be collected until September 2011. As the senior resident on the project is graduating in July 2011, it is essential that we have a medical student see the project through to its completion. The appointed medical student has been working on this project since its beginning, helping to prepare the supplies and forms necessary to initiate subject recruitment, contacting patients consistently to monitor them and to maintain the blinded nature of the study, and organizing all the data. This medical student will be fully involved with all aspects of the study. The student will be expected to work with the senior resident and two nurses at the Children’s dermatology clinic to help enroll patients; keep evaluators blinded; call patients regularly to resolve any adverse reactions, field questions, and remind of appointments; collect data; work with a statistician to analyze the data; and finally, to work with the senior resident to write the paper.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:

Dominguez AR, Balkrishnan R, Ellzey AR, Pandya AG. Melasma in Latina patients: Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of a quality-of-life questionnaire in Spanish language. J Am Acad Dermatol, 2006; 55 (1):59-66.

Werlinger KD, Guevara IL, Gonzalez CM, Rincon ET, Caetano R, Haley RW, Pandya AG. Prevalence of Self-diagnosed Melasma Among Premenopausal Latino Women in Dallas and Fort Worth, Tex. Arch Dermatol, 2007; 143 (3):424-425.

Saxton-Daniels S, Pandya AG. Impact of short-term dermatology medical trips in the developing world. J Am Acad Dermatol, 2007; 56 (4):672-674.

Wuu A, Haley RW, Pandya AG. Validation of a Questionnaire for Self-reporting of Hyperpigmentation Disorders in Chinese-Speaking Women of Chinese Descent. Arch Dermatol, 2009; 145 (2); 202-203.

Guevara IL, Werlinger KD, Pandya AG. Tolerability and efficacy of a novel formulation in the treatment of melasma. J Drugs Dermatol, 2010; 9(3):215-218.

Kodali S, Guevara IL, Carrigan CR, Daulat S, Blanco G, Boker A, Hynan LS, Pandya AG. A prospective, randomized, split-face, controlled trial of salicylic acid peels in the treatment of melasma in Latin American women. J Am Acad Dermatol, 2010; 63 (6): 1030-1035.

Harrington CR, Beswick TC, Susa JS, Pandya AG. Acquired cutis laxa associated with heavy chain deposition disease. J Am Acad Dermatol, 2008; S99-S101.

Daulat S, Detweiler JG, Pandya AG. Development of pemphigus vulgaris in a patient with psoriasis treated with etanercept. JEADV, 2009; 23:483-484.

McDonald HC, York NR, Pandya AG. Drug-induced linear IgA bullous dermatosis demonstrating the isomorphic phenomenon. J Am Acad Dermatol, 2010; 62:897-898.

Chan JL, Graves MS, Cockerell CJ, Pandya AG. Rapid Improvement of Pyoderma Gangrenosum After Treatment With Infliximab. J Drugs Dermatol, 2010; 9 (6): 702-704.

Lopez I, Ahmed A, Pandya AG. Topical PUVA for post-inflammatory hypopigmentation. JEADV, 2010;

McDonald HC, Pandya AG: Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma in Dermatology for Skin of Color, edited by A. Paul Kelly and Susan C. Taylor, The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 2009; Section 6; Chapter 44, pp 300-305.

Genthon A, Pandya AG: The Pigmentary System in Hall’s Manual of Skin as a Marker of Underlying Disease, edited by John C. Hall and Brian J. Hall, People’s Medical Publishing House – USA, 2011; Section II, Chapter 10, pp 171-194.