Identifying Barriers to Developing Expertise in Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of hair-bearing intertriginous areas with a profound impact on quality of life.
Objective: We sought to determine what barriers to treatment exist among both HS experts and non-experts.
Methods: An IRB-approved, anonymous, voluntary survey was distributed to dermatologists through the HS Foundation listserv from June to September 2021.
Results: Eighty-eight total responses were collected from 49 (55.7%) experts and 39 (44.3%) non-experts. Statistically significant differences were found in the comfort level of treating moderate ( p =0.0001) to severe ( p <0.0001) disease between experts and non-experts, as well as interest in treating moderate ( p =0.0001) and severe ( p <0.0001) disease. Multiple barriers to developing expertise were identified (e.g., access to necessary equipment). HS experts also indicated higher levels of knowledge and experience than non-experts with several medical treatments (e.g., IV Ertapenem, p <0.0001).
Limitations: We were unable to calculate response rate since listserv survey recipients were encouraged to share the survey through their personal networks.
Conclusion: This data demonstrates statistically significant differences in levels of comfort and interest between experts and non-experts in treating moderate to severe disease, as well as differences in medical therapies utilized. Furthermore, multiple barriers to expertise were identified by both experts and non-experts.
Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES: The authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this article.
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