[ efficacy of carbon dioxide laser in the treatment of chronic and lupoid cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Kerman city: a randomized clinical trial]

Lupoid [LL] and chronic leishmaniais [CCL] are variants of cutaneous leishmaniasis [CL] which are resistant to various treatments. The diseases are endemic in some developing countries such as Iran. A Variety of drugs with different effects have been suggested in recent decades. Carbon deoxide laser has been recently applied in the treatment of different dermatological diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of CO[2] laser compared to systemic Glucantime plus Allopurionl in the treatment of LL and CCL. A total of 50 patients with 86 LL or CCL lesions were participated in this study. They were divided into the two groups; the first group was treated with CO[2] laser for one session and the second group was treated with Glucantime [50 mg/kg IM for 21 days] plus Allopurionl [20mg/kg for 30 days]. All patients were followed at weeks 4[th], 8[th], 48[th] and 72[nd] and the results were compared. At week 4, the cure rate of complete improvement of two treatment groups was not statistically different [P=0.609]. By week 8, the cure rate slightly decreased [P=0.417]. The decreasing trend continued until weeks 48[th] and 72[nd] [P=0.289 and P=0.095, respectively]. Finally, 16 patients of laser group and 22 patients of the other group were cured, but statistically no significant difference was observed between the two groups [P=0.095]. Carbon deoxide laser therapy could be used in patients with hypersensitivity to pentavalent antimoniate or those with serious systemic diseases

[Frequency of contact dermatitis in patients with chronic dermatitis referring to dermatology clinics in Kerman]

Allergic and irritant compounds are frequent in nature, and the environmental allergic factors which can induce or exacerbate eczema are different and often unknown in different areas. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of contact dermatitis in patients with chronic dermatitis referring to dermatology clinics in Kerman. In this descriptive study, standard patch test containing 24 allergens was done for 156 cases [56 males and 69 females] with confirmed chronic dermatitis who had been referred to Afzalipoor Hospital Dermatology Clinics. Evaluation of the results was done for every case 24, 48 and 72 hours after application of the patch test. In whole, 153 positive patch tests were seen in 66 [52.8%] cases of 125 patients who had been examined. The most common allergic agent was nickel sulfate detected in 20 [13.1%] patients [17 females and 3 males]. The hypersensitivity reaction to this agent was significantly more common in females than males [P<0.05]. Potassium dichromate with frequency of 11.1% [12 males and 5 females] was the second common allergic agent and males showed significantly more positive reaction to this agent than females [p<0.05]. There was no statistically significant difference according to the age and sex between groups with positive and negative patch test results [P>0.05]. As the causative agents of contact dermatitis are different in various areas, by doing patch test in each area the allergic agents can be detected for more appropriate preventive measures and treatment strategies. In this study, the first and second common allergens were respectively Nickel and Chrome compounds. Thiorum, Cobalt, benzocaine and theazolin compounds were in the third rank

Behcet disease: clinical spectrum and association with hepatitis B and C viruses

We studied 48 patients with Behcet disease to determine the clinical spectrum of the disease. We also compared the seropositivity of patients for hepatitis B [HBV] and C [HCV] infection with a healthy control group to.determine whether there is an association. The major physical findings were oral aphthosis 93.8%, genital aphthosis 77.1% and ocular manifestations 64.6%. No patients were HCV antibody seropositive, but 3 of the control group [3.1%] tested seropositive. One patient [2.1%] and 2 in the control group [2.1%] tested positive for both HBV surface antigen and HBV core antibody. The differences were not statistically significant. There is, therefore, no case for recommending viral screening for HBV and HCV in Behcet disease patients at present