Assessing quality of life in patients with autoimmune bullous diseases using the Persian version of Treatment of Autoimmune Bullous Disease Quality of Life questionnaire finds similar effects in women as men.

In autoimmune bullous diseases (AIBDs), autoantibodies loosen molecular adhesions in the skin and/or mucosa and lead to blisters and erosions. Immunosuppressive drugs reduce mortality of the AIBD; therefore, patients will have to live longer with comorbidities. Objective: This study aims to determine the quality of life of AIBD patients undergoing systemic treatment while investigating the survey's relationship with various factors. Methods: In this 2-step cross-sectional study, we initially included 53 consecutive pemphigus patients to investigate reliability and validity of the Persian version of Treatment of Autoimmune Bullous Disease Quality of Life (TABQOL) questionnaire. Then, we conducted the study on 119 AIBD patients, currently under treatment at an AIBD clinic in Iran. Results: The mean TABQOL score for our patients was 13.87 ± 7.51. The highest TABQOL was for epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (24 ± 8.485) followed by pemphigus foliaceus (20.5 ± 14.181) and the lowest for pemphigus vulgaris (13.24 ± 6.54). There was no significant difference between patients' TABQOL scores and their gender, history of rituximab injection, and disease severity scores. We only found a positive correlation between TABQOL and prednisolone dose. Conclusion: Treatments of AIBD considerably impact the quality of life of patients and an impairment in quality of life is correlated to higher doses of prednisolone.

Sweet syndrome with pulmonary involvement in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome.

We report a patient with Sweet syndrome involving the pulmonary system in the context of myelodysplastic syndrome. Although Sweet syndrome may involve a variety of organ systems, the pulmonary system is rarely affected and can result in poor clinical outcomes, including acute respiratory distress syndrome. Both cutaneous and pulmonary symptoms respond well to systemic corticosteroid therapy and early diagnosis and treatment can improve the prognosis. Our case highlights the importance of collaboration between hematologists, dermatologists, and pulmonologists to facilitate effective diagnosis, triage, and treatment of these patients.

Comparing acne follow-up: teledermatology versus outpatient dermatology visits.

The application of teledermatology for evaluating acne patients has yielded comparable therapeutic outcomes with traditional face-to-face evaluation, but follow-up compliance between these modalities is not well-studied. Our objective is to compare the rate and duration of follow-up between acne patients initially evaluated by teledermatology versus in-person outpatient consultation. Electronic medical review of acne patients, 18-35 years-old seen via teledermatology and face-to-face evaluation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center between 2010-2018 was performed. Teledermatology patients were less likely to follow-up in the first 90 days (13.0% versus 31.0%, P<0.001) compared to patients seen face-to-face with overall follow-up rates of 22% among both modalities. The median time to follow-up was 45.5 days (IQR: 13/57) in the teledermatology group compared to 64 days (IQR: 56/77) in the face-to-face group (P<0.001). Teledermatology patients were more likely to be treated with oral antibiotics (43.0% versus 28.5%) or oral spironolactone (18.5% versus 12.5%) compared to patients seen face-to-face (P<0.001). Teledermatology poses a promising solution to extend dermatologic care with earlier access to follow-up. Our data demonstrates a need to improve teledermatology follow-up education to improve follow-up care.

Review of talimogene laherparepvec: A first-in-class oncolytic viral treatment of advanced melanoma.

Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) is an oncolytic virus based on herpes simplex virus type 1 approved for intralesional treatment of advanced melanoma. In this article, we review the clinical literature on T-VEC for advanced melanoma and provide a practical approach to using T-VEC in the dermatologic surgery and oncology clinic. PubMed was used to conduct a systematic literature review of articles describing the structure, basic science, and clinical and therapeutic properties of T-VEC. The national clinical trials database was also searched for T-VEC clinical trials. Phase I to III clinical trials and early real-world experience have shown the efficacy of T-VEC in advanced melanoma as single or combination therapy with tolerable adverse effects. We conclude that with a standardized clinical approach and training, dermatologists can pave the way in using T-VEC and future oncolytic virus therapies in appropriate clinical scenarios.

Immunomodulation by Schwann cells in disease.

Schwann cells are the principal glial cells of the peripheral nervous system which maintain neuronal homeostasis. Schwann cells support peripheral nerve functions and play a critical role in many pathological processes including injury-induced nerve repair, neurodegenerative diseases, infections, neuropathic pain and cancer. Schwann cells are implicated in a wide range of diseases due, in part, to their ability to interact and modulate immune cells. We discuss the accumulating examples of how Schwann cell regulation of the immune system initiates and facilitates the progression of various diseases. Furthermore, we highlight how Schwann cells may orchestrate an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment by polarizing and modulating the activity of the dendritic cells.

A challenging diagnosis of penile sarcomatoid squamous cell carcinoma.

We report a patient with penile sarcomatoid squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) initially misdiagnosed as condyloma acuminatum. Sarcomatoid SCC is a rare, aggressive, biphasic cancer that often presents a diagnostic challenge and carries a poor prognosis, especially after a delay in diagnosis. Although sarcomatoid SCC may exhibit a broad range of clinical features, the expression of p63 and keratin 34?E12 is a common finding. Our case highlights the importance of accurate clinicopathologic correlation to facilitate a timely diagnosis and management of this rare and highly aggressive malignancy.

The ALT-70 predictive model outperforms thermal imaging for the diagnosis of lower extremity cellulitis: A prospective evaluation.

BACKGROUND: We previously demonstrated that dermatology consultation substantially reduces the rates of misdiagnosis of cellulitis; however, broad implementation of dermatology consultation is impractical on account of existing practice patterns and reimbursement systems. Meanwhile, efforts to improve diagnostic accuracy have culminated in point-of-care tools, including the ALT-70 predictive model for lower extremity cellulitis and thermal imaging. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively evaluate the performance of the ALT-70 predictive model and thermal imaging in diagnosing lower extremity cellulitis in a head-to-head comparison. METHODS: We collected ALT-70 and thermal imaging data from patients with presumed lower extremity cellulitis and compared classification measures and accuracy for the ALT-70 predictive model, thermal imaging, and combination testing (ALT-70 predictive model plus thermal imaging). RESULTS: We enrolled 67 patients with ALT-70 and thermal imaging data. The ALT-70 predictive model conferred the highest sensitivity (97.8%) and negative predictive value (90.9%), whereas combination testing had the highest specificity (71.4%) and positive predictive value (86.6%). The ALT-70 predictive model had improved classification measures compared with thermal imaging. Combination testing conferred a marginal benefit compared with the ALT-70 predictive model alone. LIMITATIONS: Single-center design may limit generalizability. CONCLUSION: The ALT-70 predictive model outperformed thermal imaging in diagnosing lower extremity cellulitis. The accuracy of the ALT-70 predictive model was high and consistent with its performance in previously published literature. Broad implementation of the ALT-70 predictive model in clinical practice may decrease the rates of misdiagnosis of lower extremity cellulitis.

BPDAI and ABSIS correlate with serum anti-BP180 NC16A IgG but not with anti-BP230 IgG in patients with bullous pemphigoid.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune bullous disease characterized by autoantibody production against BP180 and BP230. Two scoring systems have been validated for BP including: Bullous Pemphigoid Disease Area Index (BPDAI) and Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS). In this study, we investigated correlations between both scoring systems and either anti-BP180 NC16A or anti-BP230 values. BPDAI and ABSIS were used to measure disease activity in 95 BP patients at Razi Hospital in Tehran, Iran. ELISA was performed on patient sera to identify any significant relationship between anti-BP180 NC16A/anti-BP230 values and BP disease activity. The two scores showed a strong correlation (ρ = 0.73; p value < 0.0001). Anti-BP180 NC16A values correlated with BPDAI (ρ = 0.49, p value = 0.0001), ABSIS (ρ = 0.47, p value < 0.0001), and BPDAI-Pruritus scores (ρ = 0.29, p value < 0.005). There was a strong correlation between anti-BP180 NC16A values and the ABSIS Skin score (ρ = 0.58, p value < 0.0001), and a moderate correlation with erosion/blister BPDAI score (ρ = 0.48, p value < 0.001) and urticaria/erythema BPDAI score (ρ = 0.27, p value = 0.009). Anti-BP230 values did not demonstrate any relationship with either scores or their subcomponents. Both scoring systems demonstrated moderate validity. Mucosal components did not show any correlation with anti-BP antibodies and are disproportionately presented in both BP scoring tools.

Outcomes of Early Dermatology Consultation for Inpatients Diagnosed With Cellulitis.

Importance: Many inflammatory skin dermatoses mimic cellulitis (pseudocellulitis) and are treated with antibiotics and/or hospitalization, leading to unnecessary patient morbidity and substantial health care spending. Objective: To evaluate the impact of early dermatology consultation on clinical and economic outcomes associated with misdiagnosed cellulitis. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective cohort study enrolled patients with presumed diagnosis of cellulitis in the emergency department, in the emergency department observation unit, or within 24 hours of admission to an inpatient unit of a large urban teaching hospital between February and September 2017. Patients were provided with telephone and clinic follow-up during the 30-day postdischarge period. We screened 165 patients with the primary concern of cellulitis. Of these, we excluded 44 who required antibiotics for cutaneous, soft-tissue, and deeper-tissue and/or bone infections irrespective of cellulitis status, and 5 who were scheduled to be discharged by the emergency department. Interventions: Early dermatology consultation for presumed cellulitis. Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcomes were patient disposition and rates of antibiotic use. Results: Of 116 patients (63 [54.3%] women; 91 [78.4%] non-Hispanic white; mean [SD] age, 58.4 [19.1] years), 39 (33.6%) were diagnosed with pseudocellulitis by dermatologists. Of these, 34 (87.2%) had started using antibiotics for presumed cellulitis as prescribed by the primary team at the time of enrollment. The dermatology team recommended antibiotic discontinuation in 28 of 34 patients (82.4%), and antibiotics were stopped in 26 of 28 cases (92.9%). The dermatologists also recommended discharge from planned observation or inpatient admission in 20 of 39 patients with pseudocellulitis (51.3%), and the primary team acted on this recommendation in 17 of 20 cases (85.0%). No patients diagnosed with pseudocellulitis experienced worsening condition after discharge based on phone and clinic follow-up (30 of 39 [76.9%] follow-up rate). Extrapolating the impact of dermatology consultation for presumed cellulitis nationally, we estimate 97 000 to 256 000 avoided hospitalization days, 34 000 to 91 000 patients avoiding unnecessary antibiotic exposure, and $80 million to $210 million in net cost savings annually. Conclusions and Relevance: Early consultation by dermatologists for patients with presumed cellulitis represents a cost-effective intervention to improve health-related outcomes through the reduction of inappropriate antibiotic use and hospitalization.