ABSTRACT
Erythrasma is a chronic bacterial infection due to Corynebacterium minutissimum, affecting the interspaces of the toes, the axillary folds and the groin. Its impact is underestimated as it is often misdiagnosed ad wrongly taken as a dermatophytic infection. Through a hospital series, we report the epidemiologic and clinical features of erythrasma, as well as the therapeutic ways. A retrospective study over a 20 year period and including the patients diagnosed as having erythrasma after a Wood's light examination. There were 16 patients [6 males and 10 females] with an average age of 44.6 years-old. The majority of our patients consulted on hot season. Clinical examination showed macular plaques with clear limits, erythematous in 6 cases and yellowish in the remaining cases. The lesions were located at the axillary folds in 13 cases; the groin in 2 cases and at all folds in one case. Treatment with erythromycin [topical or general administration] was the most prescribed. Outcome was generally favourable, but recurrences have been noticed. Erythrasma is a frequent misdiagnosed infection and often confused with a mycosis [especially in the interspaces of the toes]; knowing that antimycotic agents are efficient in erythrasma. This is probably the reason of the small number of patients in our series
ABSTRACT
Pruritus is an unpleasant cutaneous feeling causing the desire to scratch. Few epidemiologic studies were interested in this symptom which relates to the old subject particularly. To study the epidemiological and clinical features as well as the treatment of pruritus in this age bracket. A retrospective study over 10 years and 5 months at the dermatology department of Habib Thameur hospital concerned 208 patients, 65 years old and more presenting a pruritus without specific dermatological lesion. The frequency of pruritus in the old subject was 5.14 per 1000 new consultants. Pruritus had revealed an ignored affection in 36.36% of the cases: an iron deficiency in 10 cases, a type 2 diabetes in 6 cases, a hypereosinophilia over 1000 elements/mm3 in 4 cases, a chronic renal failure in 2 cases, a hepatic cytolysis in 2 cases, a cholestasis in one case, a polycythemia vera in one case and hepatitis B one a case. Skin lubricants and antihistamines associated to topical corticosteroids in 25 cases and UVB therapy in a case were prescribed. These treatments brought an attenuation of pruritus in 62% of the cases. Iron deficiency anemia was the principal cause of pruritus in our series, followed by the type 2 diabetes. Our results contrast with the data of the literature considering that the traditional prevalence of the hepatic cholestasis was not noted and that diabetes is not regarded as inductive factor of pruritus