ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Eczematous cheilitis can be caused by endogenous or exogenous factors. Exogenous causes include contact of the lips with lipsticks, toothpastes, and topical medications. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the causative allergens in 56 eczematous cheilitis patients. METHODS: We identified patients who had visited the Department of Dermatology at Chonnam National University Hospital in Gwangju, Korea between January 2004 and February 2013. Clinical characteristics including age, gender, medical history, disease duration, and patch test results were evaluated. RESULTS: Among 56 patients with eczematous cheilitis, 41 (73.2%) tested positive to one or more antigens in the patch test. The patch test results were clinically relevant in 25 patients. Consequently, allergic contact cheilitis was diagnosed most commonly (25 patients, 44.6%), followed by irritant contact cheilitis (13 patients, 23.2%), and endogenous cheilitis (5 patients, 8.9%). The causative factors were undetermined in 13 patients (23.2%). CONCLUSION: The common causes of allergic contact cheilitis were exposure to lipstick casings, lip cosmetics such as lipsticks and lip balms, and products like toothpaste. Nickel sulfate was the most common antigen found in the patch test, followed by fragrance mix and balsam of Peru. Patch testing should be performed in patients with chronic eczematous cheilitis to identify possible causes of allergic contact dermatitis.
Subject(s)
Humans , Allergens , Cheilitis , Dermatitis, Allergic Contact , Dermatology , Korea , Lip , Nickel , Patch Tests , Peru , ToothpastesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Eczema herpeticum (EH) is caused by viral infection, usually with the herpes simplex virus (HSV), and most often occurs in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Although EH is a common dermatosis, predisposing factors are largely unknown, and there have been few clinical and epidemiologic studies in Korea. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the clinical characteristics of inpatients diagnosed with EH over the last 10 years. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 62 patients who were diagnosed with EH and were hospitalized at the Chonnam National University Hospital in Gwangju from January 2004 to July 2014. RESULTS: The ratio of male to female patients with EH was about 2:1, and the mean age at onset of EH was 25.3 (+/-17.3) years. In this study, AD (67.7%) was the most common preceding skin disorder, followed by nummular eczema (6.5%), and seborrheic dermatitis (3.2%). Patients with EH had other systemic symptoms such as fever (22.6%), headache (4.8%), and lymphadenopathy (4.8%). Patients with recurrent infection of HSV had longer hospitalizations compared to those with primary infection (9.35 vs. 6.49 days), but the difference was not significant (p=0.269). There was no significant difference in the number of hospitalized days between patients receiving antiviral agents vs. antibiotics (p=0.153). Systemic steroids were administered in 66.1% patients, which had no correlation with the number of hospitalized days (p=0.203). CONCLUSION: The present retrospective analysis contributes to our understanding of the clinical characteristics of EH.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Anti-Bacterial Agents , Antiviral Agents , Causality , Dermatitis, Atopic , Dermatitis, Seborrheic , Eczema , Epidemiologic Studies , Fever , Headache , Hospitalization , Inpatients , Kaposi Varicelliform Eruption , Korea , Lymphatic Diseases , Medical Records , Retrospective Studies , Simplexvirus , Skin , Skin Diseases , SteroidsABSTRACT
Azathioprine is an imidazole derivative of 6-mercaptopurine and is well known for its role in T and B lymphocyte inhibition. These properties have made it useful in the treatment of organ transplant rejection, rheumatoid arthritis, and severe psoriasis. We studied the effects of low-dose azathioprine and acitretin combined therapy in 3 cases of refractory psoriasis. The patients had previously been treated with other systemic and topical therapies. Although they had received partial and temporary benefits, they were not controlled effectively. These patients were subsequently treated with azathioprine and acitretin. Azathioprine treatment (50-100 mg/day) in combination with acitretin (10 mg/day) showed marked improvement of recalcitrant psoriasis. There were no noticeable major side effects associated with this course of treatment. In conclusion, some cases of recalcitrant psoriasis may be effectively and safely controlled using low-dose of azathioprine and acitretin combined therapy.
Subject(s)
Humans , Mercaptopurine , Acitretin , Arthritis, Rheumatoid , Azathioprine , Lymphocytes , Psoriasis , TransplantsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Microsporum (M.) canis is a zoophilic dermatophyte commonly acquired from cats or dogs, and it is the most common pathogen of tinea capitis in Korea. An increase in the incidence of M. canis infection has been observed after 1970s. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in epidemiological features and clinical findings on M. canis infection. METHODS: We retrospectively carried out an analysis of 133 patients with M. canis infection among clinically suspected dermatophytosis during last 10 years, from 2001 to 2010. RESULTS: The isolation rate of M. canis was 5.9% of all isolated dermatophytes. The annual number of patients infected by M. canis has fluctuated between 8 and 22 and was highest in 2007. The infections were most prevalent in patients under the age of 10 years (51.1%). The ratio of male to female patients was 0.8:1 in total, but 1.1:1 in children under the age of 10 years, and 0.4:1 in adults. Seasonally, 58.6% (78 cases) occurred in winter and spring, which was more prevalent than in other seasons. The highest clinical type among dermatophytosis was tinea capitis (56.4%), and followed by tinea faciale (15.8%), and tinea corporis (15.0%). The incidence of patients with the noninflammatory lesions (68.3%) in tinea capitis was higher than inflammatory lesions (31.7%) in clinical characteristics. CONCLUSION: We analyzed the patients with dermatophytosis caused by M. canis during last 10 years, from 2001 to 2010, and their prevalence, seasonal changes, and clinical charateristics were demonstrated and compared with previous studies.
Subject(s)
Adult , Animals , Cats , Child , Dogs , Female , Humans , Male , Arthrodermataceae , Incidence , Korea , Microsporum , Prevalence , Retrospective Studies , Seasons , Tinea Capitis , TineaABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To validate the functional performance tests (FPTs) after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty men in their third decade after ACL reconstruction at 6 month follow-up and thirty healthy subjects were selected. Lysholm knee score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective score, Tegner activity score, KT-2000 arthrometer test, isokinetic strength test, functional performance tests (one leg hop test, co-contraction test, shuttle run test, carioca test) were performed in two groups. We evaluated the test-retest reliability of FPTs in healthy group and the between FPTs and other parameters in ACL reconstruction group. RESULTS: The test-retest result showed high correlation in co-contraction test (r=0.511), shuttle run test (r=0.746), carioca test (r=0.742). In the ACL reconstruction group, the IKDC score, Tegner activity score, extensor power at 60degrees/s, and one leg hop test also showed high correlation between each test. CONCLUSIONS: The three FPTs showed correlations with the established methods for determining return to sports activities after ACL reconstruction and had high test-retest reliability. Therefore we believe the three FPTs can be useful methods to assess knee function in athletes after ACL reconstruction.