Necrolytic acral erythema in Egyptian patients with HCV

Three thousand adult and pediatric cases with confirmed hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection [ELISA and PCR] were screened for necrolytic acral erythema [NAE] during a period of three years. Five cases had the typical clinical and histopathological characteristics of NAE. During the same period of screening, 18 cases of NAE were unaware of their HCV infection. Most of NAE patients were adults [91.3%] and the chronic form of the lesions was more predominant with affection of the dorsa of toes and/or feet in all cases. Electron microscopic examinations failed to detect HCV particles and PCR failed to detect HCV RNA in the skin lesions

Pyloric and antral webs in infants and children: underestimated entity?

The true incidence of pyloric and antral webs in infancy and childhood is debatable. Some authors claim to be rare, others present it as a condition occurring in epidemic form. Form 1992 through 1994, 10 patients with pyloric and antral webs were managed at Ain Shams University Hospitals. There were 5 girls and 5 boys with ages ranging firm 5 days to 5 years. The main presenting symptom was repeated non-bilious vomiting, Upper gastrointestinal barium study confirmed the presence of gastric outlet obstruction in all cases but typical signs of pyloric and antral webs were identified in only 6 patients. All patients underwent incision of the web and pyloroplasty with eventual recovery postoperatively. The finding of these 10 patients within this period suggests that the condition is not as rare as previously thought. Though some authors believe the value of conservative management on the assumption that the condition is self limiting, in all our patients treatment was basically surgical due to severity and persistence of symptoms that failed to respond to conservative management