Pattern of presentation of pompholyx at a principal referral point in Port Harcourt over a period of ten years

Background: Pompholyx is a type of hand eczema which is characterized by recurrent vesicles and bullae.It is seen commonly in the age group 20 -40 years, affects all races and has an equal sex distribution. It is commonly associated with contact allergic dermatitis and contact irritant dermatitis and atopy. Other associated factors include emotional stress, chronic illness such as HIV and physiological states like pregnancy. Pompholyx is said to be common in warm climate. In which the study area can be classified as such being a tropical climate in the Sub Saharan Africa. Pompholyx is a disease that reduces the quality of living of affected individuals and can bea cause of social stigmatization, often mistaken for a contagious infection such as scabies. It can also be a cause great discomfort to the body and mind leading to work and school absenteeism. Methodology:It was a retrospective cross sectional study of new pompholyx cases within the period of January 2006 to December 2015 from the new patient clinical register. Folders were retrieved and data was extracted using a semi-structured questionnaire developed from standard written medical literature on pompholyx. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.Results:Thirty six new cases of pompholyx were seen within the period with an average incidence of 0.59% over the ten year period consisting of 22 females and 14 males with age range of 2- 65years.There was no statistical significant relationship between age categories and sex. The majority of cases were seen amongst students. The age 20-45 group constituted the highest number. 61% had a history of contact dermatitis with the major triggers being detergents, chemicals and metals. All patients were counseled and improved after receiving treatment from at least two of the five major classes of drugs- corticosteroids, antifungal, antibiotics, antihistamines and astringents. Conclusion:Pompholyx is a recurrent hand dermatitis characterized by vesicles and bullae though not common as the study reflects; it can be a source of mental and physical discomfort leading to a poor quality of life in affected individuals

Dishidrosis: estudio de 89 pacientes / Dyshidrosis: a study of 89 patients

Se llevó a cabo un estudio de 89 pacientes portadores de lesiones de aspecto dishidrótico, desde diciembre de 1990 hasta marzo de 1994. El grupo estaba constituido por 55 mujeres y 34 varones, con un promedio de edad de 37,7 años. A todos los pacientes se les realizó rutina de laboratorio, parasitológico de materia fecal y estudios micológicos de la lesión, hallándose en estos últimos un 55 por ciento de positividad (siendo en su mayoría T. rubrum). Esto nos permitió inferir que en realidad se trataban de verdaderas tiñas, a pesar de cumplir con algunas de las cuatro variantes clínicas de la enfermedad (vesiculosa-descamativa-pustulosa o ampollar), por lo que consideramos que es imprescindible el estudio micológico de estas lesiones

Disidrose: estudo prospectivo de 600 casos / Dyshidrosis: prospective study of 600 cases

O autor realizou um estudo prospectivo em 600 pacientes portadores de disdrose. Após uma revisäo bibliográfica a respeito mostra os resultados obtidos em relaçäo ao sexo, raça, idade, profissäo, localizaçöes das lesöes, meses de freqüência e possíveis causas etiológicas