[Benign skin tumours].

Benign skin tumours are commonly seen by general practitioners. They are important to differentiate from skin malignancies. Most benign skin lesions are diagnosed based on the history and clinical features. However, if the clinical diagnosis is uncertain, a skin biopsy, e.g. excisional or punch for histopathological examination is necessary to rule out malignancy. Seborrheic keratoses are the most common benign skin tumours with an increasing incidence with age. Other common benign skin lesions include melanocytic naevi, acrochordons and dermatofibromas, which may resemble malignant neoplasms.

Resection and reconstruction of idiopathic scrotal elephantiasis: surgical approach and quality of life assessment.

Scrotal elephantiasis (SE) is a condition considered rare in western industrialised countries but common in filaria prone regions. If no apparent causes are found for SE, it is called idiopathic SE. Medical and conservative therapies are ineffective against idiopathic SE, and surgical intervention is mandatory to treat this disabling condition. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether surgical intervention improves quality of life among patients with idiopathic SE. Herein, we report a case of a 41-year-old man who underwent acute scrotal resection and reconstruction, secondary to haemorrhage from his idiopathic SE. The aim of this study was to describe the operative approach and assess patient satisfaction after surgical treatment. The patient had no recurrence of SE after surgical treatment at 6 months follow-up and had considerable improvements assessed by general and disease-specific quality of life questionnaires.

[Immunosuppressive therapy and post-operative wound healing].

Patients in immunosuppressive treatment may have increased risk of post-operative infections and wound-healing complications. Perioperative management of immunosuppressive treatment is challenging due to the variety of medications and differences in surgical procedures across surgical specialities. This review examines the literature regarding the effect of immunosuppressive treatment on post-operative infections and wound-healing complications.

Global Prevalence and Bidirectional Association Between Psoriasis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease-A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Epidemiological studies have established an association between psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], i.e. ulcerative colitis [UC] and Crohn's disease [CD], but results are inconsistent. The aim of this study was therefore to quantify the prevalences and association between IBD and psoriasis. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched from database inception through April 2018 for studies reporting data on psoriasis among patients with IBD and vice versa. Meta-analysis was performed to estimate, respectively, the prevalences and association between IBD and psoriasis. Data extraction was according to the PRISMA guideline, and quality assessment was made using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The main outcomes were the proportion of psoriasis patients with IBD and vice versa, as well as the association (odds ratio [OR]) of IBD in psoriasis and psoriasis in IBD, respectively. RESULTS: Based on quantitative analysis of 93 studies, the prevalence of psoriasis in CD and in UC was 3.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.1%-4.6%) and 2.8% [95% CI 2.0%-3.8%] respectively. The prevalence of CD and UC was 0.7% [95% CI 0.2%-1.3%] and 0.5% [95% CI 0.3%-0.8%], respectively, among patients with psoriasis. Presence of CD or UC was significantly associated with psoriasis, with OR 2.0 [95% CI 1.4-2.9] and OR 1.5 [95% CI 1.2-2.0], respectively. Presence of psoriasis was significantly associated with CD: OR 2.2 [95% CI 1.6-3.1] and with UC: OR 1.6 [95% CI 1.3-2.0]. CONCLUSIONS: We found significant bidirectional associations between psoriasis and IBD, warranting increased awareness among clinicians in the diagnostic process, especially in children and adolescents with IBD. Last, this study showed an increased frequency of paradoxical psoriasis in patients treated with biologics.

Would you like to purchase a rodent with dermatophytes?

The zoophilic dermatophyte Trichophyton benhamiae has received attention due to increasing infections in human in recent years. Trichophyton benhamiae has been found on asymptomatic rodents from pet shops in several countries posing a potential risk for transmission to humans. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of positive dermatophyte cultures from rodents in Danish pet shops in order to clarify the magnitude of potential sources of zoophilic infections and to prevent further spread. Specimen sampling was performed in 17 Danish pet shops using the brush technique (MacKenzie technique). After incubation, cultures were sent to ITS DNA sequencing for molecular species identification. Pet shop employees were asked to fulfil a five-question survey regarding purchase and procedures of diseased animals. A total of 98 animals were sampled (N = 32 rabbits, N = 32 guinea pigs and N = 34 hamsters). Trichophyton benhamiae was found in 14/98 samples (14%); 12/32 guinea pigs (38%) were positive with T benhamiae, 2/34 (6%) hamsters and 0/32 rabbits (0%). We found that hamsters and particularly guinea pigs from Danish pet shops are common asymptomatic carriers of the dermatophyte T benhamiae. Although a larger study is warranted to test this postulate, and it raises the question if infection control measures should be implemented in pet shops.

Burden and Disease Characteristics of Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: A Population-based Cross-sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and treatment regimes, disease characteristics, and comorbid diseases among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in Denmark. METHODS: All Danish individuals aged ≥ 18 years with rheumatologist-diagnosed PsA were linked in nationwide administrative registers. RESULTS: Among 4.7 million individuals in Denmark, 10,577 patients with PsA had been diagnosed by a rheumatologist. A female predominance (54.5-59.8%) was seen among patients with PsA, and about half of the patients (53.0%) had received no treatment or treatment only with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs/systemic corticosteroids, while 32.9% had received nonbiological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) and 14.1% had been treated with biologicals. Cutaneous psoriasis was recorded in 66.2-72.3% of patients with PsA, and patients with severe PsA had the highest prevalences of distal interphalangeal arthropathy, spondylitis, and arthritis mutilans. Smoking and comorbid diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and anxiety were seen frequently in patients with PsA, but did not significantly differ across severities of PsA. CONCLUSION: Disease burden appeared to be significant in patients with PsA across all severities. A considerable proportion of patients with PsA did not receive active antipsoriatic treatment, and about 1 out of 3 patients was not diagnosed with psoriasis. Cutaneous symptoms of psoriasis in patients with PsA might be either underreported or undertreated.

Interleukin-8, nitric oxide and glutathione status in proliferative vitreoretinopathy and proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate interleukin-8 (IL-8), nitric oxide (NO) and glutathione (GSH) profiles in vitreous humor and blood samples in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and in patients with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and to compare the levels with those of controls. PATIENTS AND METHODS: NO concentrations were determined by using the Greiss reaction in plasma and vitreous humor samples. GSH levels were determined in both blood and vitreous humor samples, using DTNB, a disulfide chromogen. Vitreous IL-8 were assayed by ELISA. Twenty-three patients with PDR, 18 patients with PVR and 21 cadavers as the control group were included in the study. RESULTS: Plasma and vitreous NO levels were found to be 25.6 +/- 2.1 and 36.9 +/- 3.0 micromol/l in patients with PDR, 27.0 +/- 4.7 and 34.3 +/- 2.9 micromol/l in patients with PVR and 17.4 +/- 2.7 and 15.9 +/- 1.4 micromol/l in controls, respectively. Vitreous humor and plasma NO levels did not show any statistically significant difference between PDR and PVR groups. However, the values for vitreous in both groups were significantly higher than those of controls (p < 0.0001). Although IL-8 levels in vitreous samples of patients with PDR were not significantly different (79.6 +/- 9.7 pg/ml) from those of patients with PVR (42.2 +/- 7.3 pg/ml) (p = 0.06), the levels in both groups were significantly higher than those of controls (19.0 +/- 3.9 pg/ml) (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.05, respectively). Blood and vitreous GSH levels were found to be 5.3 +/- 0.4 micromol/g. Hb and 0.58 +/- 0.16 micromol/l in patients with PDR and 8.4 +/- 0.5 micromol/g. Hb and 15.7 +/- 2.2 micromol/l in patients with PVR and 12.0 +/- 1.1 micromol/g. Hb and 0.26 +/- 0.03 mmol/l in controls, respectively. Vitreous and blood GSH levels were significantly lower in patients with PDR compared to those with PVR (p < 0.0001 for both). CONCLUSION: Elevated levels of vitreous and plasma NO and vitreous IL-8 in PDR and PVR implicate a role for these parameters in the proliferation in these ocular disorders. GSH concentrations both in vitreous and blood samples of the PVR and PDR patients were much less than those observed in the control group. Lower GSH concentrations detected in PDR in comparison with those in PVR in vitreous humor and to a lesser degree in blood may play an important role in pathogenesis of new retinal vessel formation in patients with PDR. This also suggests that oxidative stress may be involved in the pathogenesis of PVR and particularly that of PDR.