A patient presenting with early syphilis and features of general paralysis of insane - An interesting case report in the 21st century!

A 66-year-old unemployed unmarried male with known men sex men activity since the age of 20 years presented with an erythematous well-defined ulcer on the lower lip and multiple discrete papulo-squamous lesions on the palms, soles, and scrotum. The patient was also in dysphoric mood with grandiose ideas with normal higher function. Knee and ankle jerk reflexes were absent and there was impaired tandem walking. Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) and treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay were positive. Cerebrospinal fluid-VDRL was positive with grossly elevated proteins and glucose. HIV test was negative. Magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain was normal. We made a diagnosis of neurosphilis - General paralysis of insane (GPI) with co-existing early syphilis. The patient was started on crystalline penicillin for 14 days after which there was significant improvement in behavior. We are reporting a rare case of GPI with early syphilis.

A study of the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in dermatology inpatients.

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a cause of increased morbidity and mortality in debilitated and immunocompromised patients. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of MRSA among dermatology inpatients and elucidate its predisposing factors and antibiotic sensitivity pattern. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study involved all the inpatients in the dermatology ward with suspected bacterial infections, both primary and secondary. Gram's stain, pus culture, and antibiotic sensitivity were the main tests done. RESULTS: There were 61 patients in this study, with 36 males (59%) and 25 females (41%). The age group maximally affected was 41-50 years (21.6%). Vesiculobullous disorders (22, 36.1%) and eczemas (16, 26.2%) were the commonest dermatoses with secondary infection. Extremities (72.1%) and the trunk (26.2%) were the commonest sites involved. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was the commonest systemic illness (11.5%). Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest isolate, grown in 52 patients (85.2%) of whom 16 (30.80%) were MRSA positive. MRSA constituted 22.2% of the total bacterial isolates. All the MRSA isolates (100%) were resistant to cloxacillin and oxacillin, while all the isolates (100%) were sensitive to vancomycin and linezolid. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of MRSA in this study was high. It was most commonly seen in patients with vesiculobullous disorders. A high sensitivity of MRSA was found to amikacin. There was no relation between prolonged antibiotic therapy and MRSA in this study.

Histoid leprosy - unusual presentation.

A 39-year-old man presented with a chronic nonhealing toe ulcer and multiple skin-colored papules on the back, arms, and knees. From an initial small erosion, the toe lesion ulcerated over a 1.5-year period, while the papules progressed over a 6-month period, first appearing on the back and then spreading to the arms and knees. The past medical and family history were non-contributory. Pertinent findings included the aforementioned well-defined, asymmetric, shiny papules (Fig. 1). There were multiple, discrete, erythematous, pedunculated, tumor-like masses of various sizes over the right thigh (Fig. 2) and a well-defined 4 cm x 3 cm ulcer on the second toe of the left foot, the floor of which was covered by necrotic slough. There was distal loss of sensation to temperature, touch, and pain. The greater auricular, ulnar, radial cutaneous and common peroneal nerves were thickened bilaterally, but non-tender. A clinical diagnosis of histoid leprosy was made. The differential diagnosis for the tumor-like thigh masses included dermatofibroma, neurofibroma, and Kaposi's sarcoma. The hemogram, liver/renal function tests, chest X-ray, and abdominal ultrasound were normal. Human immunodeficiency virus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (HIV ELISA) was negative. The ear lobe smear (ELS) for acid-fast bacilli showed a bacterial index (BI) of 6+[> 1000 organisms/oil immersion field (oif)] and a morphological index (MI) of 50%. The skin-colored papules on the back and the pedunculated masses showed a BI of 5+ (100-1,000 organisms/oif) and an MI of 50%. The normal skin showed a BI of 4+ (10-100 organisms/oif) and an MI of 5%. Biopsy of the papules and pedunculated tumors showed a well-circumscribed area of the dermis packed with many acid-fast organisms and foamy macrophages, consistent with histoid leprosy (Fig. 3). Fite-Faraco stain demonstrated cells packed with lepra bacilli. A final diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy, histoid variant, was made. Dapsone, clofazimine, rifampicin, and, later, ofloxacin were started.