Topical steroid containing combinations: Burden of adverse effects and why the recent regulatory action may not be enough.

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: In September 2018, the government of India banned 328 fixed dose combinations (FDCs), 24 of which are combinations containing topical steroids. To assess what impact can be expected from this regulatory action, we analyzed reports of adverse drug events due to topical corticosteroids at a hospital-based pharmacovigilance center between January 2017 and August 2018. RESULTS: Among 34 different steroid-containing FDCs responsible for 485 reports of ADEs with topical steroids, only three preparations, accounting for 50.10% of ADEs, come under the umbrella of the recent ban. Clobetasone propionate (68.87%) and betamethasone (28.45%) were the corticosteroids most frequently associated with adverse events. Most of the steroid preparations (87.84%) had been bought without a prescription for the treatment of dermatophytoses (76.70%). Males (77.73%) were predominantly affected, and nearly half (47.43%) of the patients were between 21 and 30 years of age. Skin atrophy (50.10%), striae (25.54%), and hypopigmentation (19.79%) were the major ADEs. CONCLUSION: Nearly half of the cutaneous adverse effects were due to topical steroid combinations which are still widely available over the counter.

An old entity, a new trigger: Post COVID-19 vaccine pityriasis rubra pilaris.

BACKGROUND: Pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) is a rare, acquired, chronic papulosquamous dermatosis which can occur in all ages. PRP can be associated with infection, autoimmunity, drugs and malignancies, and can be idiopathic. OBJECTIVE: PRP following vaccination has been rarely described in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first case of PRP two weeks following COVID-19 vaccination (Covishield). CASE REPORT: A 72-year-old male presented to the outpatient dermatology department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences - Bhopal with minimally pruritic superficial plaques since one week. The patient was vaccinated against COVID-19 with Covishield two weeks earlier. The lesions developed as erythematous scaly follicular papules and plaques over axilla that rapidly spread to the trunk in the following weeks and involved palms and soles as well as thickening and fissuring. The clinical features suggested PRP. The histopathology showed epidermal acanthosis with hypergranulosis alternating with parakeratosis and orthokeratosis with broad rete ridges with follicular plugging. The patient had started taking topical corticosteroids and emollients, which proved effective. There was no recurrence after receiving a second dose on follow-up. CONCLUSION: In patients presenting with new onset PRP in this COVID-19 era, the possibility of vaccine as a trigger should be taken into consideration, and further dosing should be carefully monitored in view of possible recurrence.

Fixed drug eruption due to levocetirizine.

A fixed drug eruption (FDE) is a cutaneous adverse drug reaction due to Type IV or delayed cell-mediated hypersensitivity. Antihistamines, which antagonize the action of histamine during an allergic reaction by blocking the H1 histamine receptors, are used routinely for the treatment of various allergic disorders such as urticaria, eczemas, and also in itchy lesions of skin like scabies. Levocetirizine, an active (R)-enantiomer of cetirizine, is a newer or second generation antihistamine, with more specific actions and fewer side effects, including cutaneous reactions. FDE due to levocetirizine as well as with cetirizine are rare. We report a case of levocetirizine induced FDE in a 49-year-old male patient with scabies. The patient had a history of cetirizine induced FDE in the past.

Black hairy tongue with a fixed dose combination of olanzapine and fluoxetine.

Black hairy tongue (BHT) is a benign disease characterized by elongated filiform lingual papillae, with a carpet-like appearance of the dorsum of the tongue. It is has been reported to occur with a prevalence ranging from 0.6% to 11.3%. Although its etiology is not fully understood, BHT may be triggered by smoking, excessive coffee or black tea drinking, poor oral hygiene, trigeminal neuralgia, general debilitation, dry mouth as well as certain drugs. We present here a case of a patient with psychosis, depression, and benign prostatic hyperplasia, who developed BHT following treatment with a fixed dose combination (FDC) of olanzapine and fluoxetine and recovered within 3 months after withdrawal of treatment with FDC.

A hospital-based study on knowledge and attitude related to vitiligo among adults visiting a tertiary health facility of central India.

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is one of the common stigmatizing dermatosis in the Indian society and the vitiligo patients have to face significant psychological hurt and social neglect. The severity of the stigma is related to the society's attitude and knowledge about it. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To document the prevalent knowledge and attitude in general public towards vitiligo patients, and to identify the determinants of good/poor knowledge and attitude. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic random sampling technique was adopted to enroll 700 adult participants visiting an urban tertiary healthcare facility of central India. We developed a questionnaire to collect information on knowledge and attitude of the participants. A composite score was developed for good knowledge and attitude and performance of the participants was compared with the selected determinants. Data analysis was conducted by Stata software version 11. RESULTS: The overall knowledge score was good for 66.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 62.8%, 69.8%) of the participants. However, the score for attitude was comparatively poor i.e., only 16.9% (95% CI: 13.9%, 19.5%). None of the studied parameters could be significantly correlated with the knowledge score. Being married and being engaged in a health care related occupation were significant predictors of good attitude levels with P = 0.042 and 0.034 respectively, whereas female gender was the significant predictor for poor attitude with an odds ratio of 0.54 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.9) and P = 0.018. CONCLUSIONS: There were widespread myths prevalent about vitiligo in the studied population. The knowledge scores were better than attitude scores.

Antibiotic Use in Sore Throat: Are We Judicious?

Introduction Sore throat (acute tonsillitis/pharyngitis) is one of the most common clinical diagnosis encountered in ENT practice. It is a common practice to advice antibiotics in patients of sore throat not only in otolaryngology practice but also in pediatricians, GP's and internists. This is now becoming a matter of concern for two reasons, for the side effects of antibiotics and bacterial drug resistance. Methods To analyse patients on their symptoms and rapid streptococcal test for group A Stretococcus and determine antibiotic use. A prospective study was done in 600 patients who were clinically diagnosed as acute tonsillitis or acute pharyngitis and results analysed. Discussion Results showed that 24 % patients needed antibiotics while the rest did well without antibiotics. Results Rapid streptococcal test is a useful test in determining whether the patient needs antibiotic and help is reducing irrational use of antibiotics.

Bullous mastocytosis in a 3-month-old infant.

Mastocytosis is a rare myeloid neoplasm characterized by abnormal proliferation and accumulation of mast cells in one or more organ systems including the skin, bone marrow, liver, spleen, lymph nodes and gastrointestinal tract. An infant presenting with bullous lesions is an even rarer clinical presentation of cutaneous mastocytosis. The symptoms and complications are mostly in proportion to the mast cell degranulation in tissues. Management is focused on preventing and treating this event. We report a three-month-old infant with bullous mastocytosis to enhance awareness about this rare diagnosis.

Use of clonidine as an adjuvant to infiltration anaesthesia in tympanoplasty: a randomized double blind study.

This prospective double blind randomized study evaluated the effect of clonidine when used as an adjuvant to local anaesthetic agents for infiltration block and measured its impact on the quality of anaesthesia, intraoperative bleeding and post-operative pain. We recruited 60 patients needing tympanoplasty, which were randomized them into two groups; group A patients received local infiltration of 12 ml 2 % xylocaine with adrenaline (1:200,000 dilution), while group B received 12 ml 2 % xylocaine with adrenaline with 30 µg of clonidine. Duration of block was significantly prolonged in group B (group A 53.66 ± 7.7 vs. group B 177.13 ± 48.9, p < 0.005). Mean pain scores were significantly lower in group B during the first hour following the block (3.43 in group A vs. 1.2 in group B, p < 0.005). Total number of analgesic doses over 24 h showed no significant difference (3.1 in group B vs. 3.26 in group A, p > 0.05). 93.3 % patients in group A required sedation with midazolam, compared to 10 % in group B. Grade of bleeding was significantly lower in group B. Patient and surgeon satisfaction scores were better in group B. It could be concluded that 30 µg clonidine added to lidocaine 2 % has a significant impact in decreasing the bleeding in the operative field and improving the quality of intraoperative anesthesia as well as prolonging the duration of postoperative analgesia without significant side effects.

Unilateral multi-segmental leiomyomas: a report of rare case.

A 30-year-old female presented to us with multiple tender erythematous papules and nodules. These lesions showed multi-segmental distribution along 5(th) cervical, 6(th) dorsal, and 1(st) sacral segments of right half of the body. Histopathological examination confirmed the clinical diagnosis of leiomyoma. Patient was started on nifedipine 10 mg thrice-daily with significant symptomatic improvement in 3 months. Though segmental distribution of leiomyoma is common, unilateral multi-segmental distribution has not been so far reported in the literature. Hence, the case is being reported for its rare presentation and the need for long-term follow-up in view of its association with aggressive renal carcinoma.