Awareness, knowledge, and practice patterns of general practitioner residents and specialists toward hidradenitis suppurativa: a survey study.

Introduction: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an unrecognized chronic inflammatory and debilitating disease with severe consequences for patients' quality of life.
Methods: A survey was performed among general practitioner (GP) residents and consultants in order to determine awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about HS.
Results: Among 372 respondents, 74% were GP residents in the first 2 years, 22% GP residents in the 3rd and 4th year, and 4% consultants. For a patient with boils and/or recurrent abscesses in folds, 90% considered a diagnosis of HS with no significant difference according to years of experience. These patients were referred to dermatology by 273 residents (80%) and eight consultants (53%), and this difference is statistically significant (p < 0.05). Regarding acute treatment, 84% prescribed topical antibiotics and 76% oral antibiotics. Respecting therapeutic approach, we observed that treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is higher among older residents (51%) compared to younger ones (36%, p < 0.02) and the prescription of oral clindamycin is higher among consultants (31%) compared to residents (12%, p < 0.04).
Conclusions: Our survey demonstrates that knowledge of HS is lacking among primary care physicians. Communication channels between GPs and dermatologists are often hampered, and so we recommend incorporating medical education into GP residency programs on how to treat mild HS, when to refer, and how to approach HS.