Mohs micrographic surgery for verrucous carcinoma: a review of the literature.

Verrucous carcinoma is a rare, low grade variant of squamous cell carcinoma that rarely metastasizes but tends to display aggressive local behavior. Wide local excision is the most common treatment, but has high rates of local recurrence, ranging from 19 to 75% in the literature. The cases of verrucous carcinoma treated with Mohs micrographic surgery in the literature, as well as a previously unpublished case is summarized. PubMed was searched for terms related to verrucous carcinoma and Mohs micrographic surgery, and articles reporting cases of verrucous carcinoma treated with Mohs were reviewed and summarized. A previously unpublished case treated at our institution was also reported. Thirty-eight cases of verrucous carcinoma treated with Mohs surgery were analyzed. The average age of patients was 52.1, and 50% were male. The most common sites were the foot (47%) and the anogenital region (34%). Lesion duration ranged from 0.17 to 40 years with a mean of 4.8 years, and tumor diameter ranged from 1 to 10 cm with a mean of 4.6 cm. The local recurrence rate following Mohs was 16%, with nodal metastasis occurring in 3% and no cases of distant metastasis. As verrucous carcinoma demonstrates locally aggressive behavior and a high risk of local recurrence, Mohs micrographic surgery should be considered as first line treatment. Further research directly comparing wide local excision to Mohs surgery is needed.

Safety and Efficacy of Oral Benzodiazepines for Periprocedural Anxiolysis: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Oral benzodiazepines (BZDs) are useful tools for periprocedural anxiolysis. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a black-box warning of their risks of abuse and dependence. We performed a systematic review evaluating the safety and efficacy of oral BZDs for periprocedural anxiolysis in outpatient dermatologic, plastic surgery, dental, and ophthalmologic procedures performed under local anesthesia. METHODS: A systematic review of 5 databases was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Oral benzodiazepine safety and efficacy data were extracted from eligible articles. RESULTS: A total of 43 articles and 4,060 subjects were included. Oral BZDs consistently imparted a positive anxiolytic effect and demonstrated superior or equivalent scores in patient satisfaction, surgeon satisfaction, pain, and anxiety to comparator groups in most studies. Thirty-five subjects experienced transient hypoxia, and 2 experienced transient hypertension. A total of 195 mild, self-limited adverse effects were reported. None of the studies addressed the risks of abuse and dependence in this clinical setting. CONCLUSION: Short-term use of oral BZDs for periprocedural anxiolysis seems to be safe and effective. The 2020 FDA black-box warning should not deter their appropriate use in dermatologic surgery and other low-risk outpatient procedures.

Trichoblastic carcinoma: a comprehensive review of the literature.

Trichoblastic carcinoma is a rare neoplasm thought to arise from malignant degeneration of benign follicular tumors. Its clinical features, optimal treatment, and outcomes remain largely unknown. We performed a comprehensive review of the existing trichoblastic carcinoma literature. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for keywords related to trichoblastic carcinoma, and additional articles were found in reference lists. Cases with a histopathologic diagnosis of trichoblastic carcinoma were summarized. A total of 93 cases have been described, all in case reports or case series. The average age was 65, with 66.7% of cases in males. A minority of patients had familial tumor syndromes or a history of radiation at the site, and only one was reported to be immunosuppressed. The most common site was the face (48.4%), and the majority developed de novo (87.1%). The clinical presentation was highly variable. Although most cases (82.8%) were successfully treated with surgery alone, a subset of patients had more aggressive disease including local progression or recurrence in five cases, nodal metastases in five cases, and distant metastases in three cases. Trichoblastic carcinoma is a rare malignancy with the potential for aggressive behavior. Further research is needed to better characterize this neoplasm.

Cellulitis: A Review of Current Practice Guidelines and Differentiation from Pseudocellulitis.

Cellulitis, an infection involving the deep dermis and subcutaneous tissue, is the most common reason for skin-related hospitalization and is seen by clinicians across various disciplines in the inpatient, outpatient, and emergency room settings, but it can present as a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Cellulitis is a clinical diagnosis based on the history of present illness and physical examination and lacks a gold standard for diagnosis. Clinical presentation with acute onset of redness, warmth, swelling, and tenderness and pain is typical. However, cellulitis can be difficult to diagnose due to a number of infectious and non-infectious clinical mimickers such as venous stasis dermatitis, contact dermatitis, eczema, lymphedema, and erythema migrans. Microbiological diagnosis is often unobtainable due to poor sensitivity of culture specimens. The majority of non-purulent, uncomplicated cases of cellulitis are caused by ß-hemolytic streptococci or methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, and appropriate targeted coverage of this pathogen with oral antibiotics such as penicillin, amoxicillin, and cephalexin is sufficient. Even with rising rates of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, coverage for non-purulent cellulitis is generally not recommended.

Long-term Physical and Psychological Outcomes of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis.

IMPORTANCE: Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) is known to cause multiple end-organ complications in its acute phase, but less is known about the long-term association with patients' mental health and quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To examine the chronic physical and psychological sequelae affecting patients with SJS/TEN. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A survey study conducted at 11 academic health centers in the US evaluated 121 adults diagnosed with SJS/TEN by inpatient consultive dermatologists between January 1, 2009, and September 30, 2019. INTERVENTIONS: Patients completed a survey that included the following validated questionnaires: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Screen (PC-PTSD), and the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). The survey also included questions created by the study team regarding fear, patient education, and long-term sequelae relevant to SJS/TEN. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcome measures were the percentage of patients reporting long-term physical sequelae; the percentage of patients with positive results on PHQ-9, GAD-7, and PC-PTSD screening; and the numeric score on the SF-12 (score of 50 defined as average physical and mental well-being). RESULTS: A total of 121 individuals (73 women [60.3%]; mean [SD] age, 52.5 [17.1] years) completed the survey (response rate, 29.2%). The most common long-term physical sequelae reported were cutaneous problems (102 of 121 [84.3%]), ocular problems (72 of 121 [59.5%]), and oral mucosal problems (61 of 120 [50.8%]). A total of 53.3% (64 of 120) of the respondents had results indicating depression on the PHQ-9, 43.3% (52 of 120) showed signs of anxiety on the GAD-7, and 19.5% had results indicating PTSD on the PC-PTSD. The mean (SD) SF-12 Physical Component Summary score was 42.4 (22.8), and the mean Mental Component Summary score was 46.1 (20.9). A total of 28.2% (33 of 117) of the respondents were unable to work, 68.1% (81 of 119) were fearful of taking new medications, and 30.0% (36 of 120) avoided taking prescribed medications for a diagnosed medical condition. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This survey study found that long-term physical sequelae, depression, and anxiety appear to be common in patients with SJS/TEN, with implications for health and well-being. Improved awareness of these complications may assist health professionals in offering medical care, counseling, and support to patients with SJS/TEN.

Primary Cutaneous Cribriform Apocrine Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Primary cutaneous cribriform apocrine carcinoma is a histopathological variant of apocrine adenocarcinoma (AA) of the skin, which is a rare, low-grade malignancy. While low-grade in nature, cutaneous cribriform apocrine carcinoma can mimic a metastatic manifestation of a visceral or breast malignancy, and is important to distinguish as primary through clinical history, histology, and immunohistochemical studies, if indicated. CASE REPORT A 56-year-old man with past medical history remarkable for basal cell carcinoma and hypertension presented with a 12-month history of a slowly enlarging, asymptomatic nodule on his right anterior medial lower leg. Physical examination revealed a 12×9 mm indurated and erythematous nodule with no other masses or lymphadenopathy detected. Histology demonstrated a well-circumscribed proliferation of epithelial cells in fibrosing granulation tissue-like stroma having the delicate cross-bridging of a cribriform carcinoma. Immunohistochemical studies were significant for positive high-molecular-weight keratin and cytokeratin, focal positivity for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and S100, with negative results for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and cytokeratin 20. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for metastasis when cutaneous cribriform apocrine carcinoma is diagnosed. The use of clinical history and appropriate laboratory workup with parameters such as age and sex can guide workup. After a wider excision with clear margins, follow-up for evidence of recurrence or metastasis is recommended, as the limited number of reported cases suggests that this assumption cannot be made with certainty.

Crusted scabies in an elderly woman.

Crusted scabies is a highly contagious variant of classic scabies. Affected individuals are often elderly or immunocompromised and disease is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Herein, we report an elderly woman residing in an assisted living facility who presented with diffuse sand-on-skin scale on her trunk, proximal extremities, scalp, hands, and feet. She was diagnosed with crusted scabies, isolated from other patients, and subsequently treated with permethrin 5% lotion and ivermectin. She died two weeks after initial presentation owing to sepsis.

A Mouse Model of Schnyder Corneal Dystrophy with the N100S Point Mutation.

Schnyder corneal dystrophy (SCD) is a rare autosomal dominant disease in humans, characterized by abnormal deposition of cholesterol and phospholipids in cornea caused by mutations in the UbiA prenyltransferase domain containing 1 (UBIAD1) gene. In this study, we generated a mouse line carrying Ubiad1 N100S point mutation using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to investigate the pathogenesis of SCD. In vivo confocal microscopy revealed hyper-reflective dot-like deposits in the anterior cornea in heterozygotes and homozygotes. No significant change was found in corneal epithelial barrier function or wound healing. Electron microscopy revealed abnormal mitochondrial morphology in corneal epithelial, stromal, and endothelial cells. Mitochondrial DNA copy number assay showed 1.27 ± 0.07 fold change in homozygotes versus 0.98 ± 0.05 variation in wild type mice (P < 0.05). Lipidomic analysis indicated abnormal metabolism of glycerophosphoglycerols, a lipid class found in mitochondria. Four (34:1, 34:2, 36:2, and 44:8) of the 11 glycerophosphoglycerols species identified by mass spectrometry showed a significant increase in homozygous corneas compared with heterozygous and wild-type mouse corneas. Unexpectedly, we did not find a difference in the corneal cholesterol level between different genotypes by filipin staining or lipidomic analysis. The Ubiad1N100S mouse provides a promising animal model of SCD revealing that mitochondrial dysfunction is a prominent component of the disease. The different phenotype in human and mouse may due to difference in cholesterol metabolism between species.