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Background: Lengthy wait times for dermatology appointments in the U.S. limit care access. The University of Pennsylvania's Department of Dermatology has established an urgent care clinic (UCC) and an intermediate care clinic (ICC) to expedite appointments for higher acuity patients., Objective: To describe our rapid access clinics' operations, referral patterns, and distributions of diagnoses., Methods: We performed a retrospective review of dermatology consult order and appointment data for UCC, ICC, and routine care to determine the number of orders, consult appointments, and follow-up appointments; appointment wait times; and frequencies of diagnoses in referring provider and consult appointments. Press Ganey patient satisfaction ratings were also analyzed., Results: The median (interquartile range) wait times for UCC, ICC, and routine care, appointments were 3 (1-8) days, 36 (15-64) days, and 45 (12-97) days, respectively (P<0.001). The proportion of referrals originating from subspecialists varied among UCC (47.6%), ICC (20.2%) and routine care (15.8%), (P<0.001). Distributions of diagnoses differed among UCC, ICC, and routine care. Ratings for most satisfaction metrics were similar across clinic settings., Conclusions: Dermatology rapid access clinics within an academic medical center can reduce wait times for higher acuity patients while maintaining patient satisfaction.

Background: Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) is a group of ocular tumours that has been rising in incidence among HIV-infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Surgical excision is the mainstay of treatment for OSSN in this region., Methods: This retrospective cohort study examined the clinical characteristics and treatment modalities used for 468 patients with OSSN from a large tertiary referral center in Gaborone, Botswana, over a 10-year period from 1998 to 2008., Results: The estimated annual incidence of OSSN in Botswana reached a peak of 7.0 cases per 100 000 persons per year in 2004. The mean age of the patients in the study was 38 years (interquartile range 30 - 44), and 53.9% were women. Of the patients, 48.5% were known to be HIV-infected, 1.5% were HIV-uninfected, and 50.0% had unknown HIV status. Among HIV-infected patients with CD4 counts, the median CD4 count was 192 cells/µL. As initial OSSN treatment, 20.7% of patients received simple surgical excision, 70.9% received surgical excision with adjunctive beta radiation, 0.9% received evisceration, 1.3% received enucleation, and 6.2% underwent surgical removal of unknown type. The overall rate of known recurrence was 7.1%; however, among those with at least 6 months of follow-up, the recurrence rate was 24.2%. Rates of known recurrence after simple surgical excision and surgical excision with adjunctive beta-radiation were 10.3% and 5.4%, respectively., Conclusion: This study confirms the high incidence of OSSN among young individuals in Botswana. Further investigation is warranted to determine the most effective treatment modalities to prevent recurrence of OSSN among patients in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Adverse outcomes occurring early after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation are common in sub-Saharan Africa, despite reports of high levels of ART adherence in this setting. We sought to determine the relationship between very early ART adherence and early adverse outcomes in HIV-infected adults in Botswana., Methods: This prospective cohort study of 402 ART-naïve, HIV-infected adults initiating ART at a public HIV clinic in Gaborone, Botswana evaluated the relationship between suboptimal early ART adherence and HIV treatment outcomes in the initial months after ART initiation. Early adherence during the interval between initial ART dispensation and first ART refill was calculated using pill counts. In the primary analysis patients not returning to refill and those with adherence <0.95 were considered to have suboptimal early adherence. The primary outcome was death or loss to follow-up during the first 6 months of ART; a secondary composite outcome included the primary outcome plus incident opportunistic illness (OIs) and virologic failure. We also calculated the percent of early adverse outcomes theoretically attributable to suboptimal early adherence using the population attributable risk percent (PAR%)., Results: Suboptimal early adherence was independently associated with loss to follow-up and death (adjusted OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.8) and with the secondary composite outcome including incident OIs and virologic failure (adjusted OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.4-4.7). However, of those with early adverse outcomes, less than one-third had suboptimal adherence and approximately two-thirds achieved virologic suppression. The PAR% relating suboptimal early adherence and primary and secondary outcomes were 14.7% and 17.7%, respectively., Conclusions: Suboptimal early adherence was associated with poor outcomes, but most early adverse outcomes occurred in patients with optimal early adherence. Clinical care and research efforts should focus on understanding early adverse outcomes that occur despite optimal adherence.