Murad Alam, MD, MSCI
Should you use your hand to measure skin involvement or calculate amount of topical agents?
What percentage of total body surface area is involved? The answer to this question is necessary in computing severity scores, such as the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), the Atopic Dermatitis Severity Index (ADSI), the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis Index (SCORAD), and the mSWAT (Modified Severity Weighted Assessment Tool) for measuring cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
Sunscreen Protection of Melanocytic Nevi: More than Meets the Eye
Subclinical changes occur in nevi exposed to sunlight; sunscreens and physical barriers protect against some, but not all, UV-related changes.
Calcium-Channel Blockers and Chronic Eczematous Eruptions of the Aged
Findings confirm the association of CCBs with chronic eczematous eruptions of "unknown" cause in patients 50 years and older.
Dermatitis Might Reflect a Systemic Autoinflammatory Syndrome
Is nonspecific dermatitis a characteristic phenotype of a new autoinflammatory disease associated with NOD2 mutations?
Abnormal sensations above may be rooted in problems below.
Scalp dysesthesia is a cutaneous syndrome first described in 1998 in 11 women with chronic pruritus, burning, stinging, itching, or pain of the scalp in the absence of "objective findings." Nine of the patients benefited from low-dose antidepressant therapy. The investigators did not determine if underlying cervical spine disease was present.
Patients may need to be asked about use of potentially allergenic products.
To describe the incidence of allergic contact dermatitis in patients presenting with vulvar symptoms and to identify the most common allergens, investigators employed patch testing to a standard series and a gynecologic series. Ninety women with itching, burning, pain, or discharge in the vulvar area and a clinical suspicion of allergic contact dermatitis were tested.
Adding trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole to cephalexin did not produce superior outcomes in the treatment of uncomplicated cellulitis compared with cephalexin alone.
Physicians ponder the proper treatment for cellulitis. Is the infecting organism Streptococcus or Staphylococcus, and if Staphylococcus, is it a methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain? Cultures are difficult to obtain, and about 70% fail to isolate an infecting organism from blood, needle aspiration, or skin biopsy. To assess the benefit of adding antibiotics targeting community-acquired MRSA to cellulitis therapy, these authors enrolled 146 patients in a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Immunohistochemical Analysis of BRAFV600E: More to Learn
High specificity and sensitivity make VE1 a fast and cost-effective tool for the detection of BRAFV600E protein.
Hyfrecators: No In Vitro Interference with Implantable Cardiac Devices
Hyfrecators can be used in patients with pacemakers or defibrillators without affecting the functioning of these devices.
