Calciphylaxis mimicking ecthyma gangrenosum.

Calciphylaxis is a rare cutaneous disease that may cause fatal complications in patients on long-term dialysis. Early diagnosis and proper management decrease complications. However, it can mimic cutaneous infections, especially ecthyma gangrenosum and cutaneous vasculitis. The authors report on a patient with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis for 10 years who developed painful skin necrosis on his right thigh. The tissue culture was positive for Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but the histopathology was compatible with calciphylaxis. This report aims to further the knowledge of physicians in order to help them recognize calciphylaxis in CKD patients with painful necrotic ulcers.

Lobular panniculitis associated with chikungunya fever: A case report.

Chikungunya fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease classically characterized by an acute onset of fever, arthralgia, and skin rash. In this article, we report the acute febrile illness of an adult female with arthropathy and morbilliform eruptions. The patient developed panniculitis lesions on both shins. This report aims to describe an infrequent cutaneous presentation of chikungunya fever.

Risk Factors for Invasive Fungal Infection among Thai Oncologic Patients with Febrile Neutropenia and Cutaneous Presentation: A 5-Year Retrospective Study in Southern Thailand

Background: Febrile neutropenia (FNP) is a condition defined by fever and neutropenia. There are current only limited data on related cutaneous manifestations. This study aimed to assess cutaneous lesions and their etiologies in a Thai group of FNP patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 43 non-transplant febrile neutropenic patients with concurrent cutaneous lesions, as determined by dermatopathologic studies at Songklanagarind Hospital in Thailand over a five-year period. Results: The mean age was 39 years (SD: 18.8). Approximately 60% were male. The most common underlying disease was a hematologic neoplasm. Twenty-one of the participants had developed FNP within 7.5±8.7 days after presenting with skin lesions. Twenty-two participants had skin lesions 9.0±11.1 days after FNP diagnosis. Cutaneous manifestations were mostly in the form of multiple lesions (67.4%), of which the most common were nodular skin lesions (37.2%) presenting on the lower extremities of the body (58.1%). The dermatopathologic diagnoses included infections which were almost all fungal and leukemia cutis. The development of skin lesions after FNP proved to be a statistically significant risk factor for fungal infection (OR 8.13, P = 0.009), whereas age (over 40 years) proved to be a statistically significant protective factor (OR 0.20, P = 0.04). Conclusions: There are a variety of cutaneous manifestations in FNP, of which the most common were cutaneous nodular skin lesions in the lower extremities. The most frequent infection was fungal in patients under 40 who had developed skin lesions after FNP.

Zoster-like cutaneous metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung: A case report.

The zosteriform pattern is an infrequent cutaneous finding in oncologic patients who have a skin metastasis from a different primary source. Herein we report a case of adenocarcinoma of the lung which presented with zoster-like lesions along the thoracic dermatome. The histopathology indicated a metastatic neoplasm with variable glandular formations. Immunohistochemistry results pointed to the diagnosis of metastasized lung cancer. We suggest physicians should consider this rare diagnosis when experiencing similar cases.

Erythema multiforme-like cutaneous lesions in monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma: a rare case report.

Monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma (MEITL), also known as Type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL), is an aggressive peripheral T-cell lymphoma. EATL generally presents in adults with gastrointestinal symptoms. Skin involvement is very rare, found only in approximately five percent of patients. The authors report a 67-year-old Asian male who presented with chronic diarrhea and developed erythema multiforme-like cutaneous lesions. A skin biopsy revealed extensive pagetoid spread of atypical lymphocytes in the epidermis. The results of an immunohistochemistry test led to a diagnosis of MEITL. This report points to the need for dermatologists and dermatopathologists to consider a possible diagnosis of MEITL when encountering similar cases.

A Study of Plasma Zinc Levels in Thais with Alopecia Areata.

Objective: To study the correlation between the plasma zinc levels of Thai participants with alopecia areata (AA) and compare to the levels of Thais who do not have AA. Material and Method: A cross-sectional study of thirty Thais with AA (case group) and thirty gender and age-matched healthy subjects (control group). All participants underwent blood tests measuring zinc and confounding factors. Results: Participants in both groups were the same gender, 20 (66.7%) women and 10 (33.3%) men. The median age was 37 in the study group and 38 in the control. In the study group, the median disease duration was three months (interquartile range 1-6). Patients who had AA for more than three months had a lower mean plasma zinc level than those who had AA for less than three months without statistical significance (58.33±8.59, 62.43±13.19 µg/dL (mean ± standard deviation or SD), respectively, p-value = 0.40). The correlation between plasma zinc levels and disease duration of AA (p-value = 0.31) and the plasma zinc levels and the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score (p-value = 0.16) were not statistically significant. The mean plasma zinc level in the study group was lower than in the control group with statistical significance (61.20±12.00, 67.17±10.04 µg/dL (mean ± SD), respectively, p-value = 0.04). Conclusion: The plasma zinc level in participants with AA is statistically significantly lower than in participants without AA. A more in depth study should be conducted to determine whether prescribing zinc supplement would be of benefit to AA patients.