Abstract
The skin, also known as the integumentary system, is one of the largest and most visible organs of the body which reflects the health of the body and acts as a barrier against injury and pathogens. The nails and hair are considered to be appendages of the skin rather than independent anatomic entities. The entire integumentary system is a highly complex and regulated organ that can be involved in multiple acute and chronic diseases. At one time or another, nearly everyone will present with some type of skin disease. One in six (15%) of all visits to the family doctor involves a skin problem. Assessment of patients presenting with a dermatological issue requires the pharmacist to have a systematic approach to examining the patient’s dermatological presentation and an incisive line of questioning to glean pertinent medical information. Accurate description of lesions is paramount to excluding differential diagnoses and establishing a correct diagnosis and therapeutic plan. Furthermore, pharmacists need to be judicious in recognizing drug reactions as reactions can range from being mild and self-limiting to severe and life threatening.
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Sanghera, R., Grewal, P.S. (2019). Dermatological Symptom Assessment. In: Mahmoud, S. (eds) Patient Assessment in Clinical Pharmacy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11775-7_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11775-7_11
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