E144: Plastics in dermatology: environmental impact, patient safety, and the path to sustainable practice

Synopsis: In this episode of the EADV Podcast, Dr. Efthymia Soura is joined by Prof. Margarida Gonçalo, Secretary General of the EADV and Head of the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital of Coimbra, to discuss the Contact Dermatitis Task Force's new paper on chronic hand eczema, written in an accessible question-and-answer format. They cover what defines chronic hand eczema, how to distinguish it from look-alikes such as tinea and psoriasis, and why it functions as an umbrella term covering atopic, irritant and allergic subtypes that often overlap in the same patient. Prof. Gonçalo explains why patch testing (and, where relevant, prick testing) is essential to identify and avoid triggers, and why the different subtypes share a similar molecular signature despite their diverse underlying causes, a finding that for now limits treatment to a largely one-size-fits-all approach. The conversation also addresses the heavy toll chronic hand eczema takes on patients' quality of life, the promise of new topical pan-JAK inhibitors as a possible alternative to steroids, and hope for more personalised, mechanism-based treatments in the future.

In this JEADV Takeaway, Dr. Tom Hillary takes you through "Systemic effects of sunlight: 10-year review of cardiovascular, infection and cancer outcomes" by Jasira A. Ziglar et al., published in the October 2026 issue of JEADV. The full article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.70461

Join Prof. Christian Posch as he presents his selection of Editor’s Picks from the October 2026 issue:

In this episode of the EADV Podcast, Dr. Sarah Walsh is joined by Dr. Saskia Oro (Henri Mondor Hospital, Paris) and Dr. Emmanuel Contassot (University of Basel) to mark the launch of the new EADV CARD-EM Task Force. The conversation opens with the newly published European expert consensus on the diagnosis and management of acute generalised exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP), including how to identify severe cases and when oral corticosteroids are warranted over topical treatment. They go on to discuss the allergological work-up for AGEP, including patch testing and lymphocyte transformation tests, and the underlying immunology: Dr. Contassot's research showing that IL-36 and an innate immune pathway, rather than T cells alone, help drive the pustules seen in AGEP. The conversation then turns to epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN), covering recent research into the roles of macrophages, dendritic cells and IL-33 in disease progression, and what these findings could mean for the field's first targeted therapies. The episode closes by looking at the long-term impact of SJS/TEN on survivors, drawing on a 2023 Delphi consensus on managing post-acute sequelae and a patient cohort study, both of which point to the same conclusion: the physical and psychological consequences of these diseases can last for decades, and patients need ongoing, multidisciplinary support long after the acute phase has passed.

In this JEADV Takeaway, Dr. Stefania Guida takes you through "Sex disparities in melanoma stage, recurrence and mortality: A Danish cohort study, 2004 to 2024" by J. E. Lyngstrand et al., published in the September 2026 issue of JEADV. The full article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.70180