Chronic noninfectious necrotizing granulomas in a child with Nijmegen breakage syndrome.

Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) is a chromosomal breakage disorder with characteristic physical features, chromosomal instability, and combined immunodeficiency. It is closely related to other chromosomal breakage disorders like ataxia telangiectasia. Noninfectious granulomatous inflammation refractory to treatment is a relatively common feature in ataxia telangiectasia. Herein we report a patient with NBS who developed chronic refractory necrotizing granulomatous ulcerations and review the pathophysiology of NBS and noninfectious granulomas in primary immunodeficiency syndromes.

Analysis of dermatology resident self-reported successful learning styles and implications for core competency curriculum development.

BACKGROUND: There are different teaching styles for delivering competency-based curricula. The education literature suggests that learning is maximized when teaching is delivered in a style preferred by learners. AIMS: To determine if dermatology residents report learning style preferences aligned with adult learning. METHOD: Dermatology residents attending an introductory cutaneous biology course completed a learning styles inventory assessing self-reported success in 35 active and passive learning activities. The 35 learning activities were ranked in order of preference by learners. RESULTS: Mean overall ratings for active learning activities were significantly higher than for passive learning activities (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Trends in dermatology resident learning style preferences should be considered during program curriculum development. Programs should integrate a variety of curriculum delivery methods to accommodate various learning styles, with an emphasis on the active learning styles preferred by residents.

Over-the-counter topical skin products--a common component of skin disease management.

Over-the-counter (OTC) products are widely recommended by physicians and utilized by the public for the treatment and prevention of disease. The use of OTC drugs has been studied extensively, but the patterns of physician recommendations for OTC topical skin products and the characteristics associated with patients receiving such recommendations remain unclear. We aimed to look at patterns of OTC topical skin product recommendations by physician specialty, patient demographics, geographical region, diagnosis, and metropolitan status to determine whether there are differences in the utilization of these products in the treatment of dermatologic conditions. We analyzed office-based physician visits for OTC topical skin product recommendations recorded in the 1995 to 2000 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). From 1995 to 2000, there were an estimated 36 million physician recommendations for OTC topical skin products. Although dermatologists were responsible for 53.8% of recommendations, pediatricians had the largest proportion of recommendations per prescription recommendation (OTC/Rx=0.58). Women patients, white patients, patients younger than 20 years, urban residents, and those living in the Southern United States received greater numbers of OTC topical skin product recommendations. Of the leading products recommended, hydrocortisone (27.6%), anti-infectives (23.4%), and moisturizers (13.4%) were the most common. OTC topical skin product recommendations by US physicians are substantial, particularly among dermatologists and primary care physicians. Physician specialty, gender, race, and age appear to be factors associated with those recommendations.