St. Luke’s Medical Center CME “Stratum Cerebrum: Uncovering the Layers of the Mind”
By Dr. Pearl Weena Sabido, FPDS
On 27 May 2020, the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) Department of Dermatology hosted a continuing medical education (CME) webinar entitled, “Stratum cerebrum: Uncovering the layers of the mind.” Moderated by Dr. Mary Elizabeth Danga, this was opened by encouraging welcome remarks from our PDS president, Dr. Purita Paz-Lao. Thereafter, a case on prurigo nodularis complicated by a psychocutaneous aspect was presented by Dr. Elaine Melody Co, a second-year SLMC dermatology resident.
This was followed by an insightful reaction by Dr. Antonio Sison, our esteemed colleague in the PDS who is the only specialist in both dermatology and psychiatry in the Philippines. He shared tools on how to assess dermatological patients who may possibly need psychiatric referral, as well as several relaxation techniques that doctors can teach their neurodermatitis patients.
The latter half of the CME tackled cutaneous concerns related to the current COVID-19 pandemic, by way of two exhaustive lectures from SLMC residents. The first talk, entitled “Occupational skin disease among healthcare workers managing COVID-19,” was delivered by second-year resident Dr. Sher Claranza Liquido. Here, she gave evidence-based recommendations on how to address and manage the various skin lesions that develop among healthcare workers due to their use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
The final lecture, entitled “Cutaneous concerns in COVID-19: Literature review and cases encountered,” was given by Dr. Elaine Melody Co. Aside from talking about the various skin manifestations that have so far been reported internationally in relation to COVID-19, most notably COVID toes and Kawasaki disease, she also presented a few cases that have been seen by SLMC consultants. She reiterated that, since we could still be considered to be in the data-gathering stage of this pandemic, there is no established causality yet between these reported skin manifestations and COVID-19. Nonetheless, she pointed out that it is worth collating all these cases in order for us all to have a better understanding of this novel viral infection.
Overall, this was a successful CME that saw 779 attendees.

Picture 1. Dr. Purita Paz-Lao, PDS president, giving the opening remarks.
Picture 2. Dr. Antonio Sison, esteemed psychodermatologist, sharing his expertise and giving pearls on how to better deal with psychocutaneous cases.

Picture 3. Dr. Mary Elizabeth Danga, this year’s CME moderator for SLMC, together with the resident case presenters during the open forum.