[Skin necrosis: report of eleven cases]. / Necrosis cutánea: un desafío para el médico.

Skin necrosis must be considered as a syndrome, because it is a clinical manifestation of different diseases. An early diagnosis is very important to choose the appropriate treatment. Therefore, its causes should be suspected and confirmed quickly. We report eleven patients with skin necrosis seen at our Department, caused by different etiologies: Warfarin-induced skin necrosis, loxoscelism, diabetic microangiopathy, ecthyma gangrenosum, disseminated intravascular coagulation, necrotizing vasculitis, paraneoplastic extensive necrotizing vasculitis, livedoid vasculopathy, necrotizing fasciitis, necrosis secondary to the use of vasoactive drugs and necrosis secondary to the use of cocaine. We also report the results of our literature review on the subject.

Scleromyxedema without paraproteinemia.

BACKGROUND: Scleromyxedema is a rare generalized form of lichen myxedematosus, a chronic cutaneous mucinosis of unknown etiology usually associated with a monoclonal gammopathy and underlying systemic disorders. It is characterized by the presence of lichenoid papules and diffuse indurations of the skin. Histologically, mucin deposits are observed in the dermis as variable degrees of fibrosis. Numerous treatment modalities have been reported as producing partial or inconsistent responses associated with significant adverse effects. METHODS: We report an unusual case of scleromyxedema not associated with monoclonal gammopathy in a young patient who was treated with thalidomide. RESULTS: Patient remained stable with maintenance of injuries despite treatment with thalidomide. CONCLUSIONS: Scleromyxedema is a rare presentation for which a defined therapeutic regimen remains to be established. Treatment with thalidomide has proved to be effective in the management of these patients. We suggest that these patients should be followed up with periodic protein electrophoresis with immunofixation for a monoclonal component in blood and urine. As the therapeutic approach to scleromyxedema remains challenging and treatment is based on symptomatic presentation, further clinical studies to substantiate an effective therapeutic regimen with a positive long-term safety and risk profile are required.

[Necrotizing herpes folliculitis. Report of one case]. / Foliculitis necrotizante herpética.

Herpes folliculitis is a rare manifestation of herpes virus infection. It usually represents a diagnostic challenge, due to the absence of characteristic skin manifestations such as vesicles or pustules. The reported cases are mainly associated with varicella zoster virus (VZV) and less commonly with herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 y HSV-2). We report a 51-year-old male with a relapsing non-Hodgkin Lymphoma under chemotherapy, with history of extensive follicular lesions lasting one month. The pathologic study of the lesions was consistent with necrotizing herpes folliculitis. The patient was treated with Valacyclovir, achieving remission of the lesions. The appearance of folliculitis, especially in an immunocompromised patient, should raise the suspicion of herpes virus infection. Polymerase chain reaction may help to elucidate the diagnosis when pathologic findings are non-specific.

[Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy. Report of two cases]. / Dermopatía fibrosante nefrogénica. Reporte de dos casos.

Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy is a recent designation to describe cutaneous findings in patients with renal disease who developed scleromyxedema-like skin lesions with thickening and hardening of the skin. These skin lesions appear mainly after hemodialysis or renal transplantation but their origin is still unknown. We report a 63 years old male on hemodialysis and 56 years old male on peritoneal dialysis, who developed a nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy that was confirmed by pathology and immunohistochemistry with monoclonal antibodies against CD34).