Superficial cryotherapy - an effective therapeutic modality for ingrown toenail

Objective: To evaluate efficacy of topical cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen as an alternative modality for ingrown toenails

Methods: A total of 39 ingrown toenails in 30 patients were enrolled in the study; Grading was done and superficial cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen was done weekly for 4 weeks on the affected nails. Patients were followed up for 24 weeks

Results: At 24 weeks follow-up, 29 nails in 22 patients showed complete clearance with no recurrence; while rest needed some other modalities like partial nail avulsion / complete nail avulsion. Only 2 nails out of 31 completely cured nails showed recurrence during follow-up period of 24 weeks. Patients who did not improve were patients with grade III ingrown nail or grade IIb ingrown nail

Conclusion: Superficial cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen has been found to be an effective therapeutic modality for ingrown toenail

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions profile in a tertiary care hospital in North India

Objective: To document drugs causing the cutaneous adverse effects and the morphology of these reactions

Methods: This observational study was carried out at Department of Dermatology in a tertiary care hospital for two years to study the cutaneous adverse drug reactions [cADRs] and identify the culprit drug or drugs. A total of 188 patients reporting to dermatology department with cutaneous adverse drug reactions were evaluated. Detailed history, as well as, clinical examination findings were recorded along with investigations wherever required and feasible

Results: The commonest drug reaction was found to be fixed drug eruptions [29.2%] followed by urticaria [20.7%]. The most common class of drugs implicated was NSAIDs in 37.2% of patients followed by antimicrobials in 30.3% of patients. The males in our study outnumbered the females

Conclusion: The clinical patterns and causative agents observed during our study were similar to those observed in other studies except for few variations. When a patient is exposed to new drugs, each time the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic conditions are different. So outcome of drug intake is unpredictable