Proposal for an Assessment Training Program in Dermatologic Ultrasound by the DERMUS Group

ermatologic ultrasound has been growing rapidly in line with the development of more potent machines and highfrequency probes. So far, this application has covered a wide and common range of dermatologic conditions that include benign and malignant tumors, vascular anomalies, inflammatory diseases, nail and scalp disorders, and cosmetic conditions.1–6 To date, several training programs for other areas of ultrasound have been reported, such as in the musculoskeletal,7–11 emergency,12–14 cardiology,15 and anesthesiology16 fields. Nevertheless, dermatologic ultrasound as a new application still lacks international formal training programs or accreditation. Thus, the increasing number of reports on this new field of ultrasound allow us to predict that in the near future, formal guidelines and training assessment programs or courses with quality and accredited educational standards should be developed. Moreover, the spreading of this technique may require a joint effort of physicians from different specialties who can contribute with their views and experience to create a minimum curriculum with a basal level of expertise for training future generations in the dermatologic ultrasound field. In 2015, the Spanish Society of Ultrasound (Sociedad Española de Ecografía), a member of the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, organized a level 1 accreditation program in dermatology and aesthetics for Spanish physicians, with 8 theoretical topics mainly based on ultrasound basics, normal anatomy of the skin, nail, and hair, inflammatory diseases, common skin tumors, fillers, and basic vascular exploration in dermatology and aesthetic medicine. This program also has a workshop on normal anatomy of the skin and adnexa, a theory test that should be passed by the participants with a minimum of 80% correct answers, and a workshop test that evaluates the competence for identifying the normal dermatologic ultrasound anatomy.17 A core international task force group called the DERMUS (Dermatologic Ultrasound) group has been formed by 15 physicians from 11 countries (Spain, Italy, Chile, Denmark, United States, India, Israel, Brazil, Colombia, Romania, and Germany) in 3 continents Ximena Wortsman, MD, Fernando Alfageme, MD, Gaston Roustan, MD, Salvador Arias-Santiago, MD, Antonio Martorell, MD, Orlando Catalano, MD, Maria Scotto di Santolo, MD, Kian Zarchi, MD, Marcio Bouer, MD, Claudia Gonzalez, MD, Robert Bard, MD, Anitha Mandava, MD, Maria Crisan, MD, Diana Crisan, MD, Diana Gaitini, MD