ABSTRACT
Introduction Prurigo pigmentosa (PP) is an underrecognized disease in the Western population. Our aim is to describe the clinical features and follow-up outcomes of Caucasian patients diagnosed with PP. Methods This case series was conducted in the dermatology outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital. Patients with confirmed PP from May 2020 to June 2021 were included in the study. Patient demographics, clinical features, potential triggers, treatment and follow-up data were recorded. Results A total of eight patients with female predominance were identified. The mean age of the patients was 24.5. The duration of symptoms ranged from four days to six months. All patients presented with pruritic, papular or papulovesicular lesions. Net-like hyperpigmentation was also present at the initial visit in two patients, in whom the duration of the symptoms was the longest. Lesions were most commonly located on the chest and back. Six of eight patients reported alteration of diet that potentially led to ketosis. Doxycycline 200 mg daily for two weeks led to a complete response in all six medically treated patients. Duration of follow-up ranged from 1-14 months (mean: 7.2 months). In five patients with a follow-up duration of more than three months, postinflammatory hyperpigmentation was resolved without any treatment. Only one patient had a recurrence. Conclusion PP does not seem to be a rare disease. Young women are most commonly affected, and ketosis stemming from decreased calorie intake may be the etiological factor in the majority of the patients. Dermatologists should be familiar with early signs of PP in order to minimize unnecessary therapies, recurrences and long-lasting hyperpigmentation.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The effects of the COVID-19 infection on the world's health system began to be reported in a short time, with the spread of the infection all over the world and it gained a global acceptance as a pandemic. It was predicted that patients who require urgent surgical procedures may not be able to access appropriate treatment during this period and may suffer from this process. In this process, we planned to report the effects of the pandemic process to this patient group by evaluating patients with acute appendicitis, which is the most common cause of acute abdomen among general surgery emergencies. METHODS: In our study, we compared the patients who applied to the Training and Research Hospital we collaborated, whose clinics were compatible with acute appendicitis, between March 11, 2020, and May 21, 2020, with those applied within the same time period with the year before. We evaluated clinical and pathological findings of the patients and the treatment applied. RESULTS: In this study, there were 103 patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis before pandemic and 61 in pandemic period. We found that during the pandemic period, patients with acute appendicitis were admitted to the hospital less often, and in a later period, and more complicated clinical pictures were determined. Complicated appendicitis patients were higher in pandemic period compared with previous year (33.96% vs. 8.00% of patients, respectively; p<0.05). CONCLUSION: We emphasized that diseases that need to be treated urgently should not be left behind during the pandemic. Furthermore, we shared our clinical practice to ensure early discharge of patients with acute appendicitis during the pandemic process.