Keep it simple. A ten-year experience in reconstructions after Mohs micrographic surgery

Abstract Background: Mohs micrographic surgery is worldwide used for treating skin cancers. After obtaining tumor-free margins, choosing the most appropriate type of closure can be challenging. Objectives: Our aim was to associate type of surgical reconstructions after Mohs micrographic surgery with the characteristics of the tumors as histological subtype, anatomical localization and especially number of surgical stages to achieve complete excision of the tumour. Methods: Transversal, retrospective analyses of medical records. Compilation of data such as gender, age, tumor location, histological subtype, number of stages to achieve clear margins and type of repair used. Results: A total of 975 of facial and extra-facial cases were analyzed. Linear closure was the most common repair by far (39%) and was associated with the smallest number of Mohs micrographic surgery stages. This type of closure was also more common in most histological subtypes and anatomical locations studied. Using Poisson regression model, nose defects presented 39% higher frequency of other closure types than the frequency of primary repairs, when compared to defects in other anatomic sites (p< 0.05). Tumors with two or more stages had a 28.6% higher frequency of other closure types than those operated in a single stage (p< 0.05). Study limitations: Retrospective study with limitations in obtaining information from medical records. The choice of closure type can be a personal choice. Conclusions: Primary closure should not be forgotten especially in surgical defects with fewer stages and in non-aggressive histological subtypes in main anatomic sites where Mohs micrographic surgery is performed.

Cutaneous metastasis as the first manifestation of occult malignant breast neoplasia

Abstract Cutaneous metastases from primary internal malignancies represent 0.7-9% of patients with cancer. We report a 65-year-old female patient referred for evaluation of normochromic papules on the trunk and upper limbs that had been present for three months. A skin biopsy revealed diffuse cutaneous infiltration by small round cell tumors. Immunohistochemistry was positive for AE1/AE3, CK7, estrogen receptor and mammaglobin. The final diagnosis was cutaneous metastasis of occult breast cancer, since the solid primary tumor was not identified. The location of the primary tumor can not be determined in 5-10% of cases. In these cases, 27% are identified before the patient’s death, 57% at autopsy, and the remaining 16% can not be located.

Associations between dengue and combinations of weather factors in a city in the Brazilian Amazon

OBJECTIVES: Dengue has become the most important endemic disease in Brazil. The Amazonian state of Roraima has one of the highest incidence rates of dengue in the country. The objective of this study was to determine whether significant temporal relationships exist between the number of reported dengue cases and short-term climate measures for the city of Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima. If such relationships exist, that suggests that it may be possible to predict dengue case numbers based on antecedent climate, thus helping develop a climate-based dengue early-warning system for Boa Vista. METHODS: Seasonal Pearson product-moment correlations were developed between 3-week running averages of daily numbers of reported dengue cases for September 1998-December 2001 and certain meteorological variables (thermal, hydroclimatic, wind, atmospheric pressure, and humidity) up to 25 weeks before. Two-sample t tests were also applied to test for statistically significant differences between samples of daily dengue cases with above-average values and samples with below-average values for three-variable meteorological combinations. These multivariate combinations consisted of the three climate measures that together explained the greatest portion of the variance in the number of dengue cases for the particular season. RESULTS: The strength of the individual averaged correlations varied from weak to moderate. The correlations differed according to the period of the year, the particular climatic variable, and the lag period between the climate indicator and the number of dengue cases. The seasonal correlations in our study showed far stronger relationships than had daily, full-year measures reported in previous studies. Two-sample t tests of multivariate meteorological combinations of atmospheric pressure, wind, and humidity values showed statistically significant differences in the number of reported dengue cases. CONCLUSIONS: Relationships between...