Solitary keratoacanthoma of the conjunctiva: report of a case.

Keratoacanthoma characteristically occurs on the skin and is rarely found in the conjunctiva. We, herein, report a case of a healthy 41-year-old Thai woman presenting with a rapidly growing conjunctival mass. The tumor was excised to exclude squamous cell carcinoma. Histopathology revealed a cup shaped well-circumscribed proliferation of squamous cells, with a central keratin crater, consistent with a keratoacanthoma. On the literature review, only 12 cases have previously been reported in the English language. The mean age of presentation was 40.75 years, with a male preponderance. Presentation of a mass was mostly within 4 weeks after onset. History of foreign material getting into the eye was positive in 5 cases. All cases were successfully treated by excision, except for one case in which malignancy transformation was found, and enucleation was required eventually. Conjunctival keratoacanthoma is a rare disease. However, this lesion should be well recognized and not misinterpreted as malignancy. As far as we are aware, this is the first report of conjunctival keratoacanthoma from this region.

The role of maternal serum C-reactive protein and white blood cell count in the prediction of chorioamnionitis in women with premature rupture of membranes.

This study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of maternal serum C-reactive protein, maternal white blood cell (WBC), and neutrophil counts in the detection of histologic chorioamnionitis. One hundred and twenty six pregnant women after at least 28 weeks of gestation with premature rupture of membranes (PROM) were studied. Blood samples for C-reactive protein, WBC and neutrophil counts were taken at delivery. Placental histology was evaluated for histologic chorioamnionitis. Maternal and neonatal complications were observed. Among women with and without histologic chorioamnionitis, the maternal WBC and neutrophil counts were different (P<0.05) but the maternal serum C-reactive protein was not. Cutoff values for C-reactive protein, WBC, and neutrophil counts were 0.5 mg/dL, 15,000 cell/mm3, and 80 per cent, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were 56 per cent and 58 per cent for C-reactive protein, 60 per cent and 63 per cent for WBC count, and 62 per cent and 54 per cent for neutrophil count, respectively. In conclusion, the maternal serum C-reactive protein, WBC, and neutrophil counts have poor diagnostic performance for histologic chorioamnionitis.