Lichen scrofulosorum: Cutaneous manifestation of tuberculous lymphadenitis.

Cutaneous tuberculosis (TB) known as tuberculid forms 1%-1.5% of all extrapulmonary manifestation of TB. Tuberculids result from a hypersensitivity reaction to an extracutaneous source of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in individuals with high immunity and can be difficult to diagnose. Lichen scrofulosorum (LS) is a rare form of tuberculid predominantly seen in children and young adults; we report a case of an 8-year-old boy evaluated for fever and mediastinal lymphadenopathy in whom the skin lesions, LS, served as an important clue for the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis.

Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia: A case report.

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare and slowly progressive disorder, a variant of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, which needs therapy only when patient becomes symptomatic. WM presents usually with constitutional symptoms, organomegaly, cytopenias, and hyperviscosity syndrome. This neoplasm is composed of small lymphocytes, plasmacytoid lymphocytes, and plasma cells that typically involve the bone marrow, and it is associated with an immunoglobulin M (IgM) gammopathy. Here we report the case a 60-year-old male with WM who initially presented with anemia and fatigue. The patient had no lymphadenopathy or any organomegaly. The diagnosis of WM was made after morphological and immunohistochemical examination of bone marrow of the patient along with an elevated serum IgM level. The patient responded well to plasmapheresis and chemotherapy. This case is unusual because the patient lacked the common clinical features of WM. A thorough clinical and hematological work up including serum electrophoresis, bone marrow study, and immunohistochemistry helps in distinguishing WM from other lymphomas and plasma cell dyscrasias.

Novel dermoscopic features of pityriasis versicolor-like macules in epidermodysplasia verruciformis.

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) manifests early in childhood as pityriasis versicolor (PV)-like macules on sun-exposed sites such as the face. These hypopigmented lesions closely resemble commoner pediatric dermatoses such as PV or pityriasis alba. In this report of two cases, we describe the distinguishing dermoscopic features of PV-like macules in EV. Unfocused dotted vessels in a hypopigmented or erythematous background with whitish scales and pigment diluted vellus hairs on dermoscopy should raise the suspicion of EV in children presenting with PV-like lesions.

Correlation of high-resolution ultrasonography findings of thyroid nodules with ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology in detecting malignant nodules: A retrospective study in Malabar region of Kerala, South India.

AIMS: The purpose of our study is to assess the role of high-resolution real-time gray-scale ultrasonography with ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in detecting malignant nodules in the thyroid gland. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: It is a retrospective study of 25 patients (aged 16-63 years) who underwent high-resolution ultrasound (HRUSG) of the thyroid gland and ultrasound-guided FNAC from February 2017 till November 31, 2017. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 25 patients with thyroid nodules detected at ultrasound were included in this study. The characteristics of each nodule were determined. The results were then compared with FNAC (ultrasound-guided) findings. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were used. RESULTS: Of the 25 nodules examined, 5 (20%) were found to be malignant on cytology. CONCLUSIONS: Gray-scale ultrasound features of thyroid nodules are useful to distinguish malignant thyroid nodules from those with benign nodules. From our study, it is obvious that the HRUSG findings of hypoechogenicity, microcalcification, and poorly defined margins have high diagnostic accuracy for identifying malignant thyroid nodules.

Risk factors for mortality in patients with leptospirosis during an epidemic in northern Kerala.

BACKGROUND: Epidemic leptospirosis is increasingly being reported from northern Kerala during the monsoon months. We investigated the risk factors for mortality during the 2002 epidemic. METHODS: Three hundred and forty patients suspected to have leptospirosis during the epidemic were studied by clinical examination, laboratory investigations and Leptospira serology (microscopic agglutination test). Two hundred and eighty-two seropositive cases were analysed for the clinical and laboratory profile, and risk factors for mortality using univariate and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 282 seropositive cases, 58.9% were men. No significant association with occupational risk factors was seen; 62.9% had wounds on the feet. The majority had Weil syndrome with hepatic (69.8%) and renal (56.3%) involvement. Thrombocytopenia (65.8%) was common. Transient hyperglycaemia was observed in 10.3% of cases. Pulmonary haemorrhage (4.7%) and meningism (4.3%) were less common. Jaundice occurred in 46% of cases in the first week. The mortality rate was 6.03%. Hyperkalaemia (OR= 27.3), meningism (OR= 10.6), oliguria (OR=8.2), haemoptysis (OR= 5.4), bilirubin > 15 mg/dl (OR= 5.4), disorientation (OR=5), tachycardia (OR=4.1) and muscle tenderness (p=0.03) were the predictors of high mortality in univariate analysis. Only involvement of the lung and central nervous system were significant predictors of death in logistic regression. CONCLUSIONS: Leptospirosis is no more a mere occupational hazard in Kerala. Early occurrence of complications such as hepatitis mandates caution in the primary care setting. Lung and central nervous system involvement are significant predictors of mortality.