BMC Dermatology

BACKGROUND: Abnormalities of facial pigmentation, or facial melanoses, are a common presenting complaint in Nepal and are the result of a diverse range of conditions. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency, underlying cause and impact on quality of life of facial pigmentary disorders among patients visiting the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital (NMCTH) over the course of one year...

BACKGROUND: Having psoriasis in hard-to-treat areas, i.e. the scalp, face, palms, soles, nails, and genitals, respectively, can impair patients' quality of life. We investigated the prevalence of hard-to-treat body locations of psoriasis, and described patients' clinical and demographic characteristics, and quality of life impacts in a population-based cohort. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study using a total of 4016 adults (≥18 years) with psoriasis from the Danish Skin Cohort...

BACKGROUND: Atopic eczema is a relapsing, itchy chronic cutaneous inflammatory disease that commonly affects children. The disease is often complicated by cutaneous infections such as eczema herpeticum, eczema vaccinatum and a varied number of bacterial infections - impetigo, cellulitis and erysipelas. However, rare case reports of infective endocarditis, otitis media and osteo-articular infections have been associated with atopic eczema. These associations possibly represent the extracutaneous infectious complications of atopic eczema...

BACKGROUND: Mycetoma is an uncommon chronic granulomatous infection of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues that can be caused by filamentous bacteria (actinomycetoma) or fungi (eumycetoma). It is the prerogative of young men between the third and fourth decade and is transmitted through any trauma causing an inoculating point. The classic clinical triad associates a painless hard and swelling subcutaneous mass, multiple fistulas, and the pathognomonic discharge of grains. Although endemic in many tropical and subtropical countries, mycetoma can also be found in non-endemic areas as in Morocco, and causes then diagnosis problems leading to long lasting complications...

BACKGROUND: Melioidosis is an emerging infection in South Asia caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei with various clinical presentations that include pneumonia, bacteraemia, arthritis, and deep-seated abscesses. Various cutaneous manifestations have been described in association with melioidosis. However Sweet Syndrome secondary to melioidosis has not been reported in the literature. Herein we describe the first case of Sweet syndrome secondary to melioidosis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 53-year-old previously healthy Sri Lankan female presented with high-grade fever, painful oral ulcers, odynophagia and multiple bilateral cervical lymphadenopathies for 1 month...

BACKGROUND: The Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool (ADCT©) is a brief patient self-administered instrument designed and validated to assess atopic dermatitis (AD) control; six AD symptoms and impacts are evaluated over the past week, including overall severity of symptoms, days with intense episodes of itching, intensity of bother, problem with sleep, impact on daily activities, and impact on mood or emotions. This study assessed the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the ADCT in a longitudinal context, and provided thresholds to identify meaningful within-person change...

BACKGROUND: Increasing resistance of head lice against neurotoxic agents and safety concerns have led to the search for treatment alternatives. Dimeticones with a physical mode of action are safe, and bear a reduced risk for the development of resistance. METHODS: We performed in vitro bioassays to assess pediculicidal and ovicidal activities of a new dimeticone-based product, and a randomized controlled clinical trial to assess efficacy, following 10 min application...

BACKGROUND: Head lice infestation (Pediculosis) is one of the most important health challenges particularly in primary school-aged children. It is often present among 6-11-year-old students in various tropical and temperate regions of the world. The aim of this study was to examine epidemiologic indices and comparative analysis of two pyrethroid-based and one non-chemical pediculicide products on head lice treatment of primary school girls in a rural setting of Fars province, south Iran, as part of a randomized controlled assessor blind trial...

BACKGROUND: Ainhum is an idiopathic dermatological disease characterized by a progressive constricting ring usually on the fifth toe, which may lead to spontaneous auto-amputation of the affected toe. Timely diagnosis and treatment are the key elements to avert amputations with resultant mutilating deformities, permanent handicaps and psychological sequelae. Though common in African descents, this pathology has not been described in the Cameroonian literature. Herein, we report the case of an adult Cameroonian woman presenting with ainhum...

BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa is one member of the follicular occlusion triad: acne conglobata, hidradenitis suppurativa, and dissecting cellulitis of the scalp. The presence of acantholysis and desmoglein autoantibodies in hidradenitis suppurativa is rare. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of 68-year-old male with a diagnosis of gluteal hidradenitis suppurativa co-presenting pemphigus-like findings including acantholysis and positive desmoglein autoantibodies...

BACKGROUND: Patch testing with a baseline series is a common tool employed when the sensitizing agent in contact dermatitis is unclear. However, for Asian countries, there are no locally validated baseline series to utilize in screening. METHODS: We completed a retrospective analysis of all patients that had undergone patch testing with the European Baseline series, Shoe Series or Comprehensive International Baseline series, over 7 years from 2012 to 2018 in a tertiary care reference dermatology clinic in Sri Lanka to evaluate the suitability of these investigations to identify causes for contact dermatitis in the local study population...

BACKGROUND: To identify the prevalence and risk factors associated with diaper dermatitis in Thai children aged 1-24 months. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 1153 participants using structural questionnaires, which was conducted at Khon Kaen University Faculty of Medicine Pediatric department in Thailand. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to test the association between diaper dermatitis and its possible risk factors...

BACKGROUND: Treatment options for the management of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis include phototherapy, oral systemic agents, and biologic therapy. Secukinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that selectively targets IL-17A, is the first IL-17 antagonist approved for this patient population. Long-term observational data are required for establishing the true population-based benefit-risk ratio of approved treatments. PURE is a multinational registry that will assess the real-world safety and effectiveness of secukinumab and other approved therapies in the management of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis...

BACKGROUND: Several different Physician Global Assessment (PGA) versions have been used in clinical studies as a co-primary end point to evaluate psoriasis severity. Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor. We performed an analysis of the PGA using data from studies of tofacitinib in moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. METHODS: Data from 3641 patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis, enrolled in one of four phase III tofacitinib studies (OPT Pivotal 1 and 2, OPT Compare and OPT Retreatment), were used to evaluate a three-item PGA scale...

BACKGROUND: We describe a case of leucocytoclasic vasculitis induced by Sofosbuvir and its disappearence after the end of the therapy. The hepatitis C virus, firstly described in 1989, is a major global health problem, with high morbidity and mortality. We observed a temporal relationship between the treatment and the onset of vasculitis. We emphasize the multidisciplinary approach to the patients with liver disease to improve the quality of life of these patients. CASE PRESENTATION: A 53-year-old Caucasian man with a history of hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection was examined at our Department of Dermatology for the occurrence of palpable purpura...

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies to determine the pattern of skin diseases among children are important for proper health care planning and management. The purpose of this study was to describe the pattern of skin diseases among pediatric patients seen at a dermatology outpatient clinic of Wolaita Sodo Teaching and Referral Hospital, southern Ethiopia. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective hospital-based, cross-sectional study between January 2016 and December 2017 at a teaching and referral hospital dermatology outpatient department...

BACKGROUND: Cutis laxa (CL) is a rare connective tissue disorder characterized by loose, redundant, inelastic and wrinkled skin. Patients develop a prematurely aged appearance. Inheritance can be autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive. The X-linked form is now classified in the group of copper transport diseases. Autosomal dominant CL is characterized by wrinkled, redundant and sagging, inelastic skin and in some cases is associated with internal organ involvement. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a familial case of autosomal dominant CL, which includes a 33-year-old woman and her 11-year-old son with dry, thin and wrinkled skin that appeared prematurely aged...

BACKGROUND: Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is an autoimmune blistering disease that is notoriously difficult to treat. Nail involvement in MMP is rare. CASE PRESENTATION: We report on a 58 years old man with severe MMP who presented with onychomadesis. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, mucous membrane pemphigoid associated paronychia and onychomadesis have not been reported before. We believe it is important for dermatologists to be aware of this entity...

BACKGROUND: A defective skin barrier and bacterial colonization are two important factors in maintenance and progression of atopic dermatitis and chronic allergic/irritant hand dermatitis. A water-based lipid delivery system containing physiologic lipids was previously shown to be a useful adjunct in the treatment of hand dermatitis. We tested the ability of this formulation to penetrate into the viable epidermis and in addition assessed its antibacterial properties. METHODS: Epidermal penetration of the product was assessed by fluorescence microscopy...

BACKGROUND: The tumor microenvironment is composed of cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor-associated macrophages, endothelial cells, immune cells, signaling molecules and extracellular matrix structures, which closelycommunicate with the tumor via multiple mechanisms. MicroRNAs are paracrine regulators that provide a direct interaction between the microenvironment and cancer cells. In the presentstudy, we aimed to identify the microRNA expression profile in melanoma compared with thatin healthy adjacent skin, with a further assessment of altered microRNA signaling pathways and target genes...