Teledermatology Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic in China: A Mobile Application-Based Retrospective Study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a retrospective study in China used a mobile application-based teledermatology service to diagnose and manage dermatological conditions in 10,000 patients, 1,500 of whom were diagnosed with alopecia. The study also analyzed data from 698 patients, diagnosing common diseases like eczema (22%), acne (9%), and atopic dermatitis (9%). The prevalence of these diseases varied by age group. The study found that teledermatology services were particularly popular among young people aged 20 to 39 years, and women were more likely to use these services than men. The study recommended patients provide high-resolution photographs before video conferences to overcome poor internet quality and called for more user-friendly telemedicine applications for older populations. The study's limitations included a small sample size and data collection by a single dermatologist using one telemedicine application.