Clinical and Histopathologic Features of Pernio / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Pernio or chilblain is an abnormal reaction to damp cold air, resulting in pruritic erythematous swellings on acral skin. The histologic features are subepidermal edema, diffuse fluffy edema of endothelial cell, and superficial or superficial and deep perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates. Many studies with a large sample size have been conducted in western countries, but there were no collective studies of pernio that have been reported in Korea. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical and histopathologic features of pernio in Korea. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical and histopathologic findings in ten patients with pernio who visited the Department of Dermatology, Kosin Medical College Gaspel Hospital during the 10 year period from 1988 to 1997. RESULTS: The results were as follows.1. The age distribution was in the range of 6-50 year old. The prevalance was heighest in the third and fourth decade. Sex ratio was 1:4 (2 males :8 females).The duration of symptoms ranged from 4 days to 30 years. All patients developed skin lesions on the acral area. Two male patients developed skin lesions on the hand associated with cold exposure and outdoor works. All patient had itching and burning papules and/or plaques, and one had a painful hard nodule. Laboratory studies were all negative and within normal ranges.2. Histopathologic features revealed subepidermal edema, diffuse fluffy edema of endothelial cell, and superficial or superficial and deep perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates in all specimens. 3. Treatment includes prophylatic measures against cold and nifedipine(calcium channel inhibiting drug). In more severe cases, pentoxifylline might be helpful. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that pernio commonly occurs in twenty to forty year old females during fall and winter. Upon exposure to cold temperatures, the acral skin develops pruritic erythematous papules and plaques. If these lesions persisit for a long time or recur, they may progress to vesicle and ulceration and possibly develop vasculitis which does not respond to therapy well. Thus, a thorough understanding of clinical and histopathologic features of pernio is vital in making a diagnosis, a treatment plan and determining the prognosis.

Clinicopathologic Features and Ki-67 Expression in LargeCell Acanthoma / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: 1970, Pinkus described large cell acanthoma(LCA) as a benign epidermal neoplasm which clinically resembles a actinic keratosis or seborrheic keratosis. However, the entity of this disease is still unclear.OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to find out if LCA is a distinctive entity by investigating its clinical features, histopathologic features and Ki-67 expression. METHODS: 20 LCA samples including normal tissue were analyzed after investigating their clinicopathologic features and immunohistochemical analysis of Ki-67 expression which was performed on the formalin-fixed, praffin-embedded tissue section. The assessment of immunohistochemical staining was based on the growth fraction(GF), defined as the number of Ki-67 positive cells divided by the total number of tumor cells counted, and was expressed in a percentage. RESULTS: 1. LCA was usually presented as a well demarcated, brown or light brown, 5 to 30 mm, round, flat to hyperkeratotic scaly patch and plaque. It predominantly affected female (5.6 females:1 males) aging from 37 to 76 years of age(mean 51 year-old). The duration of LCA ranged from 6 months to 30 years. In eleven cases, the lesion was located on the face and in nine cases, on the extremities. Eight cases showed a solitary lesion and twelve cases showed multiple lesions. Transformation to malignancy was not found.2. Histopathologic study showed sharply circumscribed epidermal neoplasms characterized by large (approximately twice the normal size) uniform keratinocytes with proportionally large nuclei and an increase of melanin in the basal layer. In many cases, hypergranulosis(18 cases) and hyperkeratosis(17 cases) were observed. Occasionally, acanthosis(10 cases), papillomatosis(9 cases) and epidermal atrophy(7 cases) were also observed. However, keratinocyte necrosis was not observed. Moderate solar elastosis and moderate lymphocytic infiltration was observed in the upper part of the dermis in all cases. Mild and moderate melanin incontinence was observed in 14 cases and 1 case respectively. Appendage involvement(follicular infundibulum and acrosyringium) was observed in all cases.3. The Ki-67 expression of LCA tissue(4.87 +/- 3.10%) was significantly higher than the adjacent normal skin(2.50 +/- 1.89%, p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Our study of the clinical and histopathologic features and the expression of Ki-67 strongly suggests that LCA is a distinctive entity.

Trends in Scabies for 12 Years / 대한피부과학회지

In order to appreciate the incidence of scabies, the authors conducted an observation of ll,848 cases of scabies in 152,254 outpatients at Chilgok Catholic Skin Clinic from January 1968 to December 1979 and the following results were obtained; The incidence of scabietic patients was 7.78% among total outpatients and the annual frequency increased progressively from 1972 (3.86%), showed maximal incidence in 1975(12. 35%), and thereafter decreased. In sexual distribution, males predominated over female 1.9: 1. In age distribution, 2nd and 3rd decades occupied 64 of total scabietic patients. The monthly distribution of total scabietic patients was highest in December (10.85%) and lowest in August (4.57%) but no seasonal variation was observed. Over half(54.9%) of 5,273 scabietic patients visited within 2 months after their infection. 1,031 cases(10.27%) of 10, 036 scabietic patients revealed the complications such as infection (5.04%), eczematization (3.37%) and nodule (1.86%).