User:Muchacha7/sandbox

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Practice Editing Here (Nov 23rd in-class Wiki session work)
Interesting; does this show am i doing this right.
 * This is a place to practice clicking the "edit" button and practice adding references (via the citation button).

Assignment # 3
1. Proposed Changes
 * Note: You will be emailing your assignment # 3 directly to your tutor, however, please paste a version here that excludes your personal information. This will allow us to support your efforts on Wikipedia prior to editing; Mycosis fungoides is a disease.

The subsection of “Mycosis fungoides” I was assigned to edit is the Diagnosis subsection, and more specifically the topic of differential diagnoses. This is only addressed in the very first sentence of the subsection and nothing more. I plan to add the following two sentences to expand on 2 other differential diagnoses of MF along with several distinguishing features of the condition:

“MF may also appear similar to other inflammatory skin conditions like lichen planus and lupus as all these conditions showcase pigmented red patches that can be itchy on localized areas of the skin. But MF can be clinically distinguished from other skin conditions by some commonly observed trends, such as long disease duration (5-10 years) and deterioration of the condition over time. ”

The final sentence change is as follows: "Diagnosis is sometimes difficult because the early phases of the disease often resemble inflammatory dermatoses (such as eczema, psoriasis, lichenoid dermatoses including lichen planus, vitiligo, and chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus), as well as other cutaneous lymphomas."

2. Rationale for proposed changes

For my sentences, I find my sources from the review article cited. The study used lays down specific diagnostic criteria that can be used to narrow down the diagnosis of Mycosis Fungoides since it clinically resembles many other conditions. In order to properly confirm the disease, a combination of clinical and pathological features must be viewed but for the purpose of simplicity, I focused on the macroscopic clinical observations.

For the first sentence, Table 2 within the paper highlights a variety of observable symptoms (both micro and macroscopically) and the prevalence of these symptoms within the sample size used in the study, all of which had an accurate diagnosis of MF. It also mentioned a variety of common differential diagnoses, two of which were Lichen Planus and Lupus. I felt it was important to mention these 2 other differential diagnoses as both of these conditions are more likely if there is a familial history/genetic link. People who view this article if they are curious about their condition may fall into one of these categories instead and this could provide some clarity about potential diagnosis if they have a link. Further extrapolating the information from this table, I listed the most common symptoms of MF that resemble lichen planus and lupus, and did my best to convert it to simple language for easy understanding of the public (ie: pruitis as itchiness).

For the second sentence, I looked at the results in Table 2 and reiterated points found in the written component of the results and discussion sections. Almost half of the MF cases in this study had a long duration of disease and about a quarter had the functional symptom of deterioration over time. I felt these were important findings to mention in the Wikipedia article as it will help readers understand their likelihood of having MF is increased if this disease has been present for a while and gotten worse over time, particularly if treatment for other conditions is not successful.

3. I did not identify any sources of controversy regarding this information.

4. Critique of source

This paper appears to be all encompassing and the authors state no conflict of interest. It is from a certified international medical journal and was published relatively recently (2017). This article delves into much depth concerning the similarities of symptoms between differential diagnoses and MF but highlights key findings that solidify the diagnoses and overall common features seen in the majority of MF cases. This paper is strong in terms of credibility and content – points of bias to consider in this paper include author’s personal ties and financial sponsors for this review, but no conflict of interest or sources of funding were declared. As a retrospective cohort study, selection bias may have played a factor in this study’s findings but since this paper was analyzing common symptoms/definite findings in those who have been diagnosed/are suspected with MF, it seems the appropriate population was chosen.

5. Article improvement (talk page)

This can be found on the talk page for Mycosis fungoides on the Wikipedia site. Muchacha7 (talk) 23:52, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

What to post on the Wikipedia article talk page?

 * This will also be covered on Nov 23rd in class. Your group should use the below template to share an outline of your proposed improvements (including your new wording and citations). Article talk pages are not places to share your assignment answers. The Wikipedia community will be more interested in viewing your exact article improvement suggestions including where you plan to improve the article (which section), what wording you suggest, and the exact citation (Note: all citations must meet WP:MEDRS)
 * You will not be able to paste citations directly from your sandbox to talk pages (unless you are interested in editing/learning Wiki-code in the "source editing" mode). We suggest re-adding your citations on the talk page manually (using the cite button and populating the citation by pasting in the DOI, website, or PMID). You will have to repeat this process yet again when you edit the actual article live.
 * Talk Page Template: CARL Medical Editing Initiative/Fall 2020/Talk Page Template