Archives of dermatology最新文献

Objective: To highlight the prevalence and impact of skin disease at the stump site in patients who have undergone amputation.

Design: A cross-sectional health questionnaire of Vietnam War veterans with stump dermatoses at least 38 years after major limb amputation.

Setting: A research registry of veterans with combat-related amputations who agreed to participate.

Participants: Recruitment began January 1, 2006, and ended December 31, 2009, with a registry of 416 veterans.

Main outcome measures: Results of a self-reported 35-item questionnaire. Participants were later contacted by telephone or asked to complete a Web survey.

Results: Of the 247 veterans, 119 (48.2%) reported at least 1 skin problem within the preceding year. The most common were skin breakdown (25.2%), rash (21.8%), and abrasion (21.0%). In addition, 25.2% experienced skin problems more than 50% of the time, and 37.1% had to alter or replace their prosthesis. Stump dermatoses limited or prevented prosthesis use in the preceding year for 55.6% and caused pain or discomfort at the stump site in 61.5%.

Conclusions: More than 38 years after major limb amputation, skin complications at the stump site continue to cause significant morbidities and contribute to prosthesis abandonment. The high prevalence of stump dermatoses stresses the importance of disease prevention, early management, and advanced treatment of skin disease.

Background: Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) is characterized by annular, nonscarring, photodistributed, or papulosquamous lesions. The disease may be idiopathic, drug induced, or drug exacerbated.

Observations: A 66-year-old woman with a history of hypertension, parkinsonism, rheumatoid arthritis, anxiety and depression, and symptoms of Sjögren syndrome was seen with a 1-month history of an eruption on her upper extremities and upper trunk. The eruption had begun 2 to 3 weeks after subcutaneous injection of golimumab for rheumatoid arthritis. She had developed SCLE 2 years previously due to furosemide use and 10 years previously due to hydrochlorothiazide use. Physical examination revealed scaly, annular, erythematous plaques photodistributed on the arms, legs, and upper trunk. A punch biopsy specimen demonstrated vacuolar interface dermatitis and lymphohistiocytic perivascular inflammation. Serological abnormalities included a positive antinuclear antibody, an elevated anti-La/SS-B antibody level, and an elevated anti-Ro/SS-A antibody level. She was diagnosed as having SCLE and was initially treated with desonide lotion, photoprotection, prednisone (40 mg/d) tapered over 6 weeks, and hydroxychloroquine sulfate (200 mg twice daily). Because of persistent disease, methotrexate sodium (12.5 mg/wk) was subsequently added to the regimen, and her eruption cleared completely.

Conclusions: Golimumab should be added to the list of medications capable of inducing or exacerbating SCLE. Our patient demonstrated variable times to the resolution of SCLE, possibly attributable in part to the different half-lives of the agents administered.

BACKGROUND Therapy with vemurafenib, an inhibitor of mutated BRAF, yields a response rate of approximately 50% in patients with metastatic melanoma harboring a BRAF V600E mutation. As an adverse effect of vemurafenib, proliferative disorders of keratinocytes, including squamous cell carcinoma, have been described. Low concentration of vemurafenib as present in the epidermis were found to activate wild-type RAF, which, in combination with a preexisting RAS mutation, can promote keratinocyte proliferation. While activating BRAF mutations occur in approximately 50% of melanomas, they are even more frequently observed in melanocytic nevi. OBSERVATION We present the case of a patient with dynamic changes of melanocytic nevi well documented by sequential digital dermoscopy during vemurafenib therapy. A variety of dermoscopic changes were observed. First, nevi involuted, and all of these originally showed a centrally elevated papillomatous and predominant globular pattern. Second, preexisting nevi increased in size, and pigmentation that rendered them atypical. Such lesions were flat and showed a predominant reticular pattern at baseline. Third, multiple new nevi occurred. One example of each of the latter 2 categories was excised and showed wild-type BRAF. CONCLUSION Our findings of changing nevi in a patient treated with vemurafenib highlight the need for sequential skin examinations, including dermoscopy.