Tuberculous gummas with sporotrichoid pattern in a 57-year-old female: A case report and review of the literature.

Sporotrichoid tuberculosis is a rare form of cutaneous tuberculosis; it primarily affects children after a post-traumatic inoculation. The diagnosis is often difficult and based on a set of arguments; it should be considered in any sporotrichoid lesion, especially in tuberculosis endemic countries. The following describes a new case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis skin infection with an unusual sporotrichoid clinical appearance in a healthy woman, emphasizing the diagnostic difficulties with a review of literature.

[Primary familial erythromelalgia. A case report]. / Érythermalgie primitive familiale. À propos d'un cas.

Erythromelalgia is a rare disease whose etiology is poorly understood. It is characterized by paroxysmal attacks of erythema, pain, and warmth of the extremities and can be primary or secondary. We report a case of primary familial erythromelalgia and stress the difficulties in its therapeutic management. We provide a brief update on the pathophysiology and treatment of primary erythromelalgia.

[Tripe palms and a hypertrophic osteoarthropathy syndrome revealing a neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung]. / Pachydermatoglyphie associée à une ostéoarthropathie hypertrophique révélant un carcinome neuroendocrine du poumon.

BACKGROUND: Tripe palms is a rare cutaneous paraneoplastic syndrome, primarily evocative of lung and gastric neoplasia. Association of many paraneoplastic diseases has also been reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 49-year-old man with a history of alcoholism and smoking addiction reported haemoptysis and thoracic pains present for one year. The physical examination showed left lung condensation. The skin examination revealed a thickened yellowish keratoderma with exaggerated skin ridges and digital clubbing. A diagnosis of paraneoplastic tripe palms was made, prompting repetition of the biopsy which ultimately revealed a neuroendocrine carcinoma. Skeletal scintigraphy showed periosteal proliferation with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. COMMENTS: "Tripe palms" or "osteoarthritic acanthosis" is a paraneoplastic syndrome. It involves an acquired keratoderma taking on a yellow velvety appearance with accentuation of dermatoglyphic lines. Malignancy is discovered in over 90% of individuals with tripe palms. If malignancy is isolated, it mostly involves the lung (53%). Gastric cancer is associated in 77% of cases if the condition is associated with acanthosis nigricans. In approximately one third of cases, the keratoderma may resolve, generally after treatment of the tumour. The association of many paraneoplastic syndromes has also been reported, in particular digital clubbing and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. At least 90% of cases of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in adults occur in patients who have or will eventually develop a malignancy. It is characterized by periostosis of long bones, joint pain, and clubbing, and it is often seen on bone scintigraphy during staging of lung carcinoma.

[Syphilis: 57 observations in Fez, Morocco]. / Syphilis: 57 observations à Fès, Maroc.

A prospective study of syphilis cases over a period of 2 years (January 2008 to September 2009) was carried out in the Department of Dermatology of the Hassan II University Hospital Center in Fes, Morocco. A total of 57 cases were identified. The M/F sex ratio was 0.89. Mean patient age was 40.5 years (range, 22-80). Risk factors included unprotected sex in 96.5% of cases and multiple partners in 42.1%. Nine patients had a history of sexually transmitted infection. No patient had received blood transfusion. Clinical picture was late latent syphilis in 70.2% of cases (n = 41). Only one case was associated with human immunodeficiency virus. The mainstay treatment was intramuscular benzathine benzylpenicillin. Outcome was favorable in 48 cases.

[Cutaneous tuberculosis: a 36-case series from Morocco]. / Tuberculose cutanée: trente-six observations au Maroc.

Tuberculosis is still endemic in Morocco. Cutaneous tuberculosis is the fifth most common form after pleuropulmonary, glandular, digestive and urogenital tract tuberculosis. The purpose of this single-center prospective study is to describe all cases of cutaneous tuberculosis treated between May 2006 and June 2009. Diagnosis was suspected based on clinical, immunological and histological features. The main clinical presentations, i.e., scrofuloderma and gumma, were consistent with endemicity of tuberculosis in Morocco. Since definitive diagnosis by detection of the tubercle bacillus was rarely possible, therapy was usually undertaken presumptively based on clinical and laboratory findings and therapeutic response.