Hyperuricemia in female and male patients of chronic plaque psoriasis

Objective: To determine hyperuricemia in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis

Methods: Out of 194, 97 biopsy proven patients of psoriasis were taken as cases and 97 participants coming to OPD with any other skin disease like acne, alopecia, dermatomycosis etc. as controls. 5ml of venous blood was drawn in sterile syringe and using gel sample tube was sent to the laboratory for serum uric acid level

Results: There were 54.6% [106/194] male and 45.4% [88/194] female. Patients of psoriasis had hyperuricemia more frequently than controls [25.8% vs. 7.2%]. Although male patients and similar frequency of hyperuricemia as in controls [15.2% vs. 6.7%], female patients had significantly more frequent than controls [35.3% vs. 8.1%]

Conclusion: Hyperuricemia is a common finding in psoriatic patients. Its treatment might be clinically useful for the global treatment of patients. We found a female preponderance which could also be due to the overall more proportion of female patients visiting the clinic

Antibiotic sensitivity patterns of staphylococcal skin infections

To determine the current sensitivity pattern against staphylococci found in skin and soft tissue infections. Patients were enrolled from OPD of Dermatology Department, PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi. All the patients with skin infections showing growth of Staphylococcus aureus on culture medium were selected. After informed consent, swab specimens were collected under aseptic measures from skin lesions for microbial analysis and sensitivity pattern. Among skin infections, furunculosis was found most common, comprising of 45.7% [n=43], cellulitis 15.0% [n=14], ecthyma 8.5% [n=8], erysipelas 8.5% [n=8] and impetigo 22.3% [n=21]. According to drug sensitivity patterns, vancomycin was found sensitive in 100%, linezolid 98.9%, mupirocin 96.8%, rifampicin 95.7%, chloramphenicol 94.7%, clindamycin 86.2%, amikacin 84%, moxifloxacin 83%, fusidic acid 79.8%, gentamicin 76.6%, oxacillin 69.1%, ciprofloxacin 68.1%, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 62.8%, erythromycin 60.6% and trimethoprimsulphamethaxazole 57.4% of cases Vancomycin, linezolid, rifampicin, clindamycin, moxifloxacin and chloramphenicol showed highest efficacy in this study. However, clinical studies are required to confirm in vivo efficacy and side effect profile of these drugs

Kindler's syndrome: a report of five cases in a family

Kindler's Syndrome [KS] is a rare genodermatosis with autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. The disease results from homozygous mutations on both alleles of the FERMT-1 gene [also known as KIND-1 gene] that encodes the protein Kindlin-1 [kindlerin]. Clinical features include a constellation of early infantile skin blistering and mild photosensitivity, which improves with age, and progressive poikiloderma with widespread cutaneous atrophy. The differential diagnosis of Kindler syndrome include other congenital poikilodermatous and photosensitive conditions including Bloom syndrome, Cockayne syndrome, dyskeratosis congenita, epidermolysis bullosa, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome and xeroderma pigmentosum. We herein, report the presence of the Kindler's syndrome in 5 out of 7 children of consanguineous parents. To authors' knowledge, this is the first report of Kindler's syndrome involving 5 members of a family