The role of Staphylococcus aureus in atopic dermatitis: microbiological and immunological implications.

INTRODUCTION: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory disease characterised by chronic and recurrent course. Its predominant symptom is skin pruritus. Therefore, many AD patients have recurrent skin infections and are susceptible to the colonisation of apparently healthy skin and nasal vestibule by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Some S. aureus strains are capable of producing exotoxins. AIM: To assess the relation between the total IgE (tIgE) and asIgE targeted against SEA (SEA-sIgE) and SEB (SEB-sIgE), as indicators of the severity of the course of AD, and the presence of S. aureus on apparently healthy skin, in skin lesions and in the nasal vestibule. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research was performed in a population of 134 AD patients (61 men and 73 women) aged 2-86 years. Three smears were collected for microbiological investigations: from the nasal vestibule, from the skin where lesions appeared at the moment of investigations and from the skin which was free from the eczema. On collection the material was cultured on solid and broth mediums. After incubation each medium was thoroughly analysed for the presence of S. aureus. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant correlation between healthy skin colonisation by S. aureus and increased SEA-sIgE. The same correlation was proved between healthy skin colonisation by S. aureus and increased SEB-sIgE. There was a statistically significant correlation between colonisation of the nasal vestibule by S. aureus and the SEA-sIgE and SEB-sIgE serum concentration. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the colonisation of the lesioned skin, healthy skin and the anterior nares by S. aureus is related with higher tIgE serum concentration, which translates to more severe course of the disease. Significantly increased SEA-IgE and SEB-IgE concentrations were observed in the patients whose tIgE serum concentration was statistically higher.

The Application of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy with Installation in Diabetic Foot Associated with Phlegmon.

The negative pressure wound therapy in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers was used successfully for many years. In the case of complications associated with infection by this type of wound treatment to give very good results. From many years of sustained research on a device that could combine the advantages of the negative pressure wound therapy and drainage flow. Finally, in the last year, the first V.A.C. Ulta (KCI, USA) devices were included to the Polish hospital departments. In this paper we present a case of a patient of successfully using a negative pressure wound therapy with installation via a set of V.A.C. Ulta in the ischemic diabetic foot syndrome complicated by phlegmon and tissue necrosis. The patient was treated in stages. In first stage was performed angioplasty of critically stenosis of the superficial femoral artery segment. Secondly, the resection of the necrotic bone revised fingers and forefoot was conducted, and in the third step the negative pressure wound therapy with installation was used. Finally, the wound was closed by the intermediate thickness skin graft. The total duration of treatment was 21 days. The patient in good general condition with a completely healed wound was discharged. Currently, after the supply with orthopedic equipment, patient regained full mobility.

Franciszek Walter (1885-1950) and a non-American concept of the origin of syphilis in Europe.

The start of Polish dermatology began in the second half of the 19th century with the development of this field of medicine. Initially, this occurred in larger academic centers, which at that time included Krakow, Warsaw, Poznan, Vilnius, and Lvov. The first University Department of Dermatology in Poland was established in 1863 at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, with its first director being Anthony Rosner, followed by among others Wladyslaw Reiss and Jan Lenartowicz, but the most important member would be Franciszek Walter.