The spectrum of cutaneous lesions in pediatric patients with leukemia

This is a clinical study that attempts to determine the incidence and patterns of cutaneous lesions in 109 pediatric patients with leukemia. Non-specific lesions, namely, adverse reactions to chemotherapy, complications of immunosuppression, and hemorrhagic diathesis were seen in 88.7 per cent of those patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia and in 88.9 per cent of patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia. Leukemia cutis was seen in three patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia, and in one patient with congenital leukemia. It seems that although skin complications are a frequent event in the course of childhood leukemia, leukemic infiltration of the skin a is rare event

Epidemiological study of tinea capitis in Puerto Rico

Two separate studies were carried out to determine the dermatophytes responsible for tinea capitis in Puerto Rico. A retrospective study to determine those agents during the period between 1979 and 1989 revealed a total of 36 mycologically positive cases. The causative organisms consisted of the following species: M. canis, 14 cases (38.9 per cent ); T. mentagrophytes, 7 cases (19.4 per cent ); T. rubrum, 7 cases (19.4 per cent ); M. gypseum, 5 cases (13.9 per cent ); and T. tonsurans, T. verrucosum, unclassified Microsporum species, 1 case each (2.8 per cent each). In a prospective study, fungal cultures were obtained from the scalps of 95 randomly selected children (45 males, 50 females) seen at the outpatient dermatology clinics of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico for a variety of skin problems but with no symptoms or signs of disease. One culture was positive for M. canis. All other cultures were negative. The significance of these findings is discussed as well as their relation to the incidence of T. tonsurans scalp infections in the Unites States

Response to treatment and recurrence of dermatomycosis in patients with diabetes

Thirteen diabetic and sixteen control patients with skin infections with dermatophytes and Candida albicans were evaluated for the response to treatment and the recurrence of the condition. Culture-proven infections of these organisms were treated with a topical antifungal cream (oxiconazole nitrate) for 30 days. There was no difference in response to treatment between the two groups. Nine diabetic and ten control patients were re-evaluated three months after finishing the treatment. Four of the nine diabetic patients (44 per cent ) and one of the ten control patients (10 per cent had evidence of recurrence. Dermatophytic skin infections in diabetic patients seem to respond adequately to topical treatment, however, recurrences appear to be frequent

Exogenous ochronosis

La ocronosis exógena es una condición que se caracteriza por tener hiperpigmentación de la cara secundario al uso crónico de cremas blanqueadores que contienen hidroquinona. Histopatológicamente se ve una colección de glóbulos amarillo-marrón (ocronóticos) en la dermis papilar. Se reportan dos casos de ocronosis exógena y se hace un repaso de la literatura

Efficacy of 1, alpha 25-dihidroxyvitamin D (calcitriol) in the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris: an open study

Several reports have appeared in the literature suggesting that Vitamin D metabolites and analogues may be useful for the treatment of psoriasis. This is a report of an open study in which the efficacy of 1, Alpha-25-dihydroxyvitamin D (Calcitriol) is evaluated in cases of moderate to severe psoriasis. Study of ten cases showed moderate improvement in four when using calcitriol at a daily dose of 0.5 ug for a period of three months. All Vitamin D metabolites were within normal limits during and after the trial. Further trials with calcitriol as an adjuvant therapy to topical steroids or photochemotherapy, as well as the development of topical Vitamin D analogues may be the future of this novel therapeutic alternative for psoriasis

Clinicopathologic study on pityriasis alba

Pityriasis alba (PA) is a relatively common skin disorder usually seen in children and young adults characterized by the presence of superficial hypopigmented macules. A clinicopathologic study on pityriasis alba was undertaken which showed an increased ocurrence of the disease in preadolescent children with