Dermatologic Differential Diagnosis.pdf. - Famona Site

x A CLINICIAN'S GUIDE TO DERMATOLOGIC DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS, VOLUME 1
new versions of old maladies and new diseases never learned or encountered and other conditions
perhaps forgotten by the reader. The text delivers key references to the fingertips of community
practitioners and academicians to start or accelerate their search engines. The diseases comprising
each chapter may be used to develop a list of larger and broader differential diagnostic possibilities for
the patient who otherwise might have appeared routine. More importantly, a new diagnosis may be
offered which better fits the patient’s clinical presentation and which better suits the practitioner’s
clinical impression. References are provided as starting points for further study.
This text is only a beginning for self-education. For the resident and student, extensive lists of
differential diagnosis expand their portfolio of cutaneous pathology and give them fresh perspectives
to contribute in the academic setting. The experienced attending dermatologist can then prioritize the
differential diagnosis both by frequency and significance. We hope our book serves as a paradigm for
the clinician as lifelong learner to be emulated by residents and students. Even those few patients with
difficult diagnostic dilemmas may find insight in this text to share with their physicians.
We have not only included the rare and exotic diseases but the esoteric and unusual aspects of the
common and mundane dermatologic conditions encountered in daily practice. Caution should be
exercised when using this text so that every set of perceived hoofbeats does not herald a zebra instead
of a horse. But be prepared to recognize either when they trot toward you. We acknowledge that the
skills needed to know when to pursue the unusual and when to confirm the common are acquired
with much experience and thoughtful practice. We hope these combined texts foster the development
and refinement of these sophisticated specialized skills.
The literature changes rapidly. Unique case reports, new diseases and treatments with novel side
effects and complications are reported daily. The authors and publishers welcome additions, deletions,
substitutions and corrections for future editions and encourage the readers’ participation in this
process. We look forward to refining and extending this work.
It is our sincere hope as urban/suburban/community/academic dermatologists that these companion
books will be as helpful to you and your patients as they have been to us and ours.
Acknowledgment
Paul I. Schneiderman
Syosset, New York
Marc E. Grossman
Scarsdale, New York
Most of the photographs of the patients in these volumes are selected from the collections of the two
authors, who have personally cared for these patients either in their private offices in Syosset,
Manhattan, and White Plains, New York or at the outpatient Vanderbilt Clinic and the Inpatient
Dermatology Consult Service at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. The authors are
grateful to our patients for permitting us to photograph them. Dr. Kenneth E. Greer, Professor and
Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Virginia Medical Center has
graciously and generously contributed numerous clinical slides from his personal collection. A few
selected images were contributed by Dr. Robert Kalb, Dr. Gary Peck, and the Yale University
Department of Dermatology.
David Bloomer, Robert Peden, and Martin Lister from Informa Healthcare have been instrumental
in bringing this long term project to fruition. The authors are deeply indebted to these wonderful
people for the faith they have had in this work and their great effort which made it a reality.