Cutaneous human myiasis due to Dermatobia hominis / La miasis cutánea humana debido a Dermatobia Hominis

This is a case report of cutaneous myiasis due to Dermatobia hominis in a female physician who had travelled to Belize. Cutaneous myiasis is endemic in Central and South America but is seldom reported from the Caribbean islands.

Éste es un reporte de caso de miasis cutánea debido a Dermatobia hominis en una mujer médico que había viajado a la Belice. La miasis cutánea es endémica en América Central y América del Sur, pero rara vez se reporta en las islas del Caribe.

Cutaneous human myiasis due to Dermatobia hominis.

This is a case report of cutaneous myiasis due to Dermatobia hominis in a female physician who had travelled to Belize. Cutaneous myiasis is endemic in Central and South America but is seldom reported from the Caribbean islands.

The epidemiology of psoriasis in a dermatology clinic in a general hospital in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies / Epidemiología de la psoriasis en una clínica dermatológica en un hospital general en puerto españa, Trinidad y Tobago, West Indies

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder which is believed to affect 2of the world's population. This retrospective study analyzed the frequency of occurrence of psoriasis in the population of a dermatology clinic in a general hospital in the capital city of Trinidad and Tobago. Psoriasis was found to be more common in males and the peak presentation was between 50-59 years. Psoriasis was more common in persons of East Indian descent compared to those of African origin.

The epidemiology of psoriasis in a dermatology clinic in a general hospital in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder which is believed to affect 2% of the world's population. This retrospective study analyzed the frequency of occurrence of psoriasis in the population of a dermatology clinic in a general hospital in the capital city of Trinidad and Tobago. Psoriasis was found to be more common in males and the peak presentation was between 50-59 years. Psoriasis was more common in persons of East Indian descent compared to those of African origin.

Relapse rates following leprosy multidrug therapy.

This is a retrospective study of relapses among leprosy patients who received multiple drug therapy in Trinidad and Tobago between January 1982 and December 1994. The results of the study reveal a relapse rate of 0.65% for multibacillary cases and 1.5% for paucibacillary cases. These results are comparable to the relapse rates reported by the World Health Organization.

A survey to determine the prevalence of leprosy in a community in east Trinidad.

A house-to-house survey was conducted in a community in East Trinidad, where a clustering of cases had been observed. There were 1355 residents, of whom 73.5% had a complete visual skin examination. No new cases of leprosy were found but a variety of skin disorders were diagnosed. The most common disorder was pityriasis versicolor, which is one of the differential diagnoses of hypopigmented skin lesions. This has serious implications for the delayed diagnosis of leprosy. In all, 5 of the 9 old cases residing in the survey area suffered from paucibacillary disease, and had a history of contact with a lepromatous case. They were not listed initially as contacts of this index case. Contact lists should therefore include nonfamilial persons having frequent contact with an index case. The definition of 'frequent' should be determined by each programme. It may also be necessary to review the duration of surveillance of contacts. The survey was estimated to have cost about US $2,500 and was not considered to be cost-effective.

Tinea capitis in Trinidad.

Characteristics of clinically diagnosed cases of tinea capitis from Trinidad are described. Tinea capitis comprised 29.5% of all dermatophytoses seen at one general hospital out-patient dermatology clinic during a one-year period. Males were more often affected than females and there was a predominance of patients of African descent. Among the dermatophytes cultured Trichophyton tonsurans was the most prevalent (52.9%), followed by Microsporum canis (20.0%) and M. audouinii (18.6%). Less frequent isolates included M. gypseum (1.9%), T. mentagrophytes var granulare (1.4%) and T. rubrum (1.4%).

Cushing's syndrome from topical glucocorticoids.

A case of Cushing's syndrome is described in a woman who self-treated psoriasis with a variety of potent topical glucocorticoids over 15 years. She was successfully weaned off corticosteroids and was treated with alternative anti-psoriatic drugs. The disappearance, nine months later, of most features of Cushing's syndrome, and the normal suppression of cortisol in response to dexamethasone, excluded endogenous hypercorticolism. The apparent widespread availability across the counter of potent corticosteroids is a cause for concern.

Attitudes towards leprosy in the outpatient population of dermatology clinics in Trinidad.

We interviewed a total of 92 dermatology clinic patients using a brief questionnaire to determine their knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about leprosy. This small survey helped to confirm our suspicions that some knowledge of leprosy is lacking and that much stigma still remains.

Cutaneous infections in Trinidad.

Skin infection is common in patients with any skin diseases where pruritus is a prominent feature. A retrospective analysis was performed on the results of skin swab cultures from patients with eczema and a variety of other conditions. This paper presents the findings of bacteriologic culture and sensitivity testing of 131 swabs from 122 patients over a period of 22 months and examines the results in terms of the reported relationship between scabies and acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. Staphylococcus aureus was most often isolated, and this appears to indicate that antistaphylococcal antibiotics should be the first line of treatment in the absence of the results of cultures.

A second report on multidrug therapy for leprosy in Trinidad and Tobago.

Multidrug therapy consisting of rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone, was introduced to Trinidad and Tobago in January 1982. This was with slight modification of the WHO regimens. Since then 717 patients have completed multidrug therapy up to the end of December 1987. Of these, 272 patients have completed surveillance and have been discharged from clinic attendance. Thirty-four patients died before completing surveillance and three are known to have migrated. Of the remaining 408 cases still under surveillance, the majority are multibacillary. This paper reviews the outcome of multidrug therapy in Trinidad and Tobago between January 1982 and December 1987--a period of 6 years, and presents some of the statistics related to the newly diagnosed patients within the same period.

Acute intermittent porphyria in a 17-year-old Trinidadian girl

We report the first case of acute intemittent poprphyria in Trinidad anbd Tobago. This condition is most commonly described in people of European origin and is considered to be rare in blacks. This girl is of African descent and has no family history of acute intermittent porphyria

Cutaneous histoplasmosis in the acquired immune deficiency syndrome--a report of three cases from Trinidad.

Three cases are reported of patients with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and cutaneous histoplasmosis. Their initial presentation was that of a generalised maculopapular rash. Two patients were bisexual males and the third was an unmarried female. The range of opportunistic infections seen in AIDS patients in Trinidad is mentioned and clinicians are alerted to the fact that in areas endemic for Histoplasma capsulatum maculopapular rash in patients with AIDS may suggest disseminated histoplasmosis. The value of skin biopsy is mentioned.