Real-world outcomes in patients with malignancy and moderate-to-severe psoriasis treated with guselkumab.

Background: The treatment of psoriasis in patients with a personal history of cancer is a matter of debate and limited evidence is available to guide clinicians. Objectives: To report a multicenter real-life experience of a group of patients with psoriasis undergoing treatment with guselkumab and a history of cancer. Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective Spanish study enrolling patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and neoplasia being treated with guselkumab for their psoriasis. Results: Twenty patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis and at least 12 weeks of ongoing treatment were included. For the analysis, a 52 week follow-up period was evaluated in terms of efficacy and safety. Most of the malignancies in these patients were solid tumors. The percentage of patients achieving psoriasis area and severity index ≤3 at week 12 and week 52 was 80% and 87.5%, respectively, whereas 68.8% of patients achieved psoriasis area and severity index ≤1. A 52-week survival rate of 100% in the study population was observed (n = 20), including those patients with concomitant active cancers (n = 14). No adverse effects or dropouts related to guselkumab safety profile were detected. Limitations: Modest sample size and the retrospective nature of the study. Conclusion: Guselkumab not only demonstrates high effectiveness in treating psoriasis but also exhibits a favorable safety profile in patients with neoplasms.

COVID-19 infection and vaccines: potential triggers of Herpesviridae reactivation

Abstract Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, numerous articles have highlighted a possible link between COVID-19 vaccination or infection and Herpesviridae co-infection or reactivation. The authors conducted an exhaustive literature review on this topic, the results of which are presented individually for each member of the Herpesviridae family: Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) types-1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2); Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV); Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV); Cytomegalovirus (CMV); HHV-6; HHV-7; and HHV-8. These human herpesviruses can serve as prognostic markers for the COVID-19 infection and may even underlie some of the clinical manifestations initially attributed to SARS-CoV-2. In addition to SARS-CoV-2 infection, all corresponding vaccines approved to date in Europe appear capable of inducing herpesvirus reactivation. It is important to consider all viruses of the Herpesviridae family when managing patients infected with or recently vaccinated against COVID-19.

COVID-19 infection and vaccines: potential triggers of Herpesviridae reactivation.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, numerous articles have highlighted a possible link between COVID-19 vaccination or infection and Herpesviridae co-infection or reactivation. The authors conducted an exhaustive literature review on this topic, the results of which are presented individually for each member of the Herpesviridae family: Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) types-1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2); Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV); Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV); Cytomegalovirus (CMV); HHV-6; HHV-7; and HHV-8. These human herpesviruses can serve as prognostic markers for the COVID-19 infection and may even underlie some of the clinical manifestations initially attributed to SARS-CoV-2. In addition to SARS-CoV-2 infection, all corresponding vaccines approved to date in Europe appear capable of inducing herpesvirus reactivation. It is important to consider all viruses of the Herpesviridae family when managing patients infected with or recently vaccinated against COVID-19.

No antibody response in cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19: An observational study of 64 cases with microbiological and clinical characterization.

BACKGROUND: The microbiological diagnosis of skin lesions related to COVID-19 is not well known. OBJECTIVE: Perform a microbiological diagnosis in COVID19-related cutaneous manifestations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed with 64 patients with cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19 who underwent serological and nasopharyngeal reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS: Out of the 64 patients, 6 patients had positive RT-PCR, with all of them developing SARS-CoV-2 IgG and 4 of them had positive IgM + IgA. Of the 58 patients with negative RT-PCR, 8 cases had positive IgM + IgA and only one of them had IgG seroconversion. Therefore, the infection was demonstrated in 7 cases (10.9%) and was doubtful in 7 other cases (10.9%) who presented negative RT-PCR and presence of IgA + IgM without subsequent seroconversion of IgG. Fifty patients (78.1%) had negative serological tests. The most frequent cutaneous pattern was pseudo-chilblain (48.4%) followed by maculo-papular pattern (26.6%), urticarial lesions (10.9%), vesicular eruptions (6.3%) and livedoid pattern (4.7%). The maculo-papular pattern showed the highest positivity in RT-PCR (3 cases; 17.6%) and serologies (4 cases; 23.5%). Skin lesions developed after the systemic symptoms in most patients (19 cases; 61.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Microbiological confirmation tests may not be an effective diagnostic technique for COVID-related cutaneous manifestations or that attributed lesions are not related to COVID-19. Confounding factors such as adverse drug reaction, serological cross-reactions with other viruses, the low production of antibodies in asymptomatic or mild forms of COVID-19 or its rapid disappearance, increase diagnostic uncertainty.

Discoid Lupus Erythematosus Presenting With Disfiguring Acneiform Plaques: A Diagnostic Challenge.

ABSTRACT: Hypertrophic and acneiform forms are very rare variants of discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), which can suppose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We present a South American woman with facial disfiguring lesions of 7 years of evolution with clinical and histopathological characteristic of both hypertrophic and acneiform DLE. No criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus were present in the patient. To the best of our knowledge, no patients with concomitant hypertrophic and acneiform DLE have been previously reported in the literature.

Escabiosis en lactante: diagnóstico dermatoscópico y test de Müller / Infant scabies: dermoscopic diagnosis and Müller test

La escabiosis o sarna es la infestación cutánea por el ácaro Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis, cuyo diagnóstico generalmente es clínico, pudiendo confirmarse mediante el test de Müller o, de forma sencilla y fiable, mediante estudio dermatoscópico. Se presenta un caso representativo de escabiosis en lactante y los hallazgos dermatoscópicos patognomónicos en un lactante de 6 meses de edad. Con la sospecha de escabiosis se realizó estudio con dermatoscopia de luz polarizada, confirmando el diagnóstico al visualizar surcos acarinos y lesiones en ala delta. Además, se realizó el test de Müller, observando el ácaro en el examen directo al microscopio óptico tras raspado de piel lesionada. Con este caso se pretende recordar la clínica típica con las características distintivas de la escabiosis en lactantes, y los principales métodos que permiten confirmar el diagnóstico, con especial relevancia de la dermatoscópica como técnica sencilla e inocua

Scabies, a skin infestation caused by Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis, is generally easy to diagnose because of its characteristic clinical features. The diagnosis can be confirmed by the Müller test or by dermoscopy, a non-invasive, painless, and highly accurate technique. We present a representative case of infantile scabies with pathognomonic dermoscopic findings, in a 6-month-old girl referred for evaluation of a 2-week dermatitis. Under suspicion of scabies, a dermoscopy examination was performed, confirming the diagnosis by showing a distinctive dermoscopic feature composed of a S-shaped furrow with a triangle on one of its endings, known as delta wing jet sign. In addition, Müller test was performed, observing the mite on direct microscope examination after scraping one of the skin injuries. This case is a reminder of the typical clinical presentation of scabies in infants and the main methods that allow us to confirm the diagnosis. We want to highlight the usefulness of dermoscopy, as it is a simple and innocuous technique

Pyemotes ventricosus Dermatitis: Comet-Shaped Skin Lesions after Contact with Woodworm-Infested Furniture.

A 23-year-old woman presented to our dermatology clinic for the sudden onset of pruritic lesions on her forearms and legs for the past two days ago. She had been restoring used furniture infested with woodworm. We observed many oval "comet-shaped" erythematous maculopapules with a serpiginous track on the exposed parts of her forearms and legs (Figure 1). Considering the temporal relationship and the contact with woodworm, we were able to diagnose it as Pyemotes ventricosus. We prescribed topical corticosteroids twice daily. By the 8th day, the lesions had cleared.