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Biomedical subjects

E Caumes

Publications and source records attributed to E Caumes.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Dermatoses associated with travel to tropical countries: a prospective study of the diagnosis and management of 269 patients presenting to a tropical disease unit.

The full spectrum of skin diseases related to travel in tropical areas is unknown. We prospectively studied 269 consecutive patients with travel-associated dermatosis who presented to our tropical disease unit in Paris during a 2-year period. The median age of these patients was 30 years; 137 patients were male; 76% of the patients were tourists; 38% had visited sub-Saharan Africa; and 85% had been appropriately vaccinated against tetanus. Cutaneous lesions appeared while the patient was still abroad in 61% of cases and after the patient's return to France in 39%. The diagnosis was definite in 260 cases; 137 of these cases (53%) involved an imported tropical disease. The most common diagnoses were cutaneous larva migrans (25%); pyodermas (18%); pruritic arthropod-reactive dermatitis (10%); myiasis (9%); tungiasis (6%); urticaria (5%); fever and rash (4%); and cutaneous leishmaniasis (3%). Hospitalization was necessary in 27 cases (10%), with a median duration of 5 days (range, 2-21 days). Travelers should be advised on how to avoid exposure to the agents and vectors of infectious dermatoses. Travel first-aid kits should include insect repellents and antibiotics effective against bacterial skin infections.

Adolescent↗

Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium africanum associated with involvement of the upper and lower respiratory tract, skin, and mucosa.

Cutaneous tuberculosis is rarely seen in industrialized countries and is usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We report a case of cutaneous tuberculosis with bilateral nodular scleritis, nasal sinus invasion, and nasal septum perforation (confirmed by computed tomography scans of the sinuses), associated with pulmonary infiltrates and mediastinal adenopathy, in an African woman. Mycobacterium africanum was recovered from the sputum after 8 weeks of culture in Löwenstein-Jensen medium. To our knowledge, this is the first description of M. africanum associated with cutaneous tuberculosis and nasal sinus invasion.

Adult↗

Adverse cutaneous reactions to pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine/clindamycin in patients with AIDS and toxoplasmic encephalitis.

We assessed the value of clinical and laboratory parameters for predicting the occurrence of skin reactions induced by pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine/clindamycin and the effects of continued therapy for patients with these reactions. We retrospectively studied all episodes of toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients with AIDS who were treated with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine or pyrimethamine/clindamycin. Eighteen (75%) of 24 patients treated with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine had cutaneous reactions after a mean of 11 days, whereas 15 (58%) of 26 patients treated with pyrimethamine/clindamycin had cutaneous reactions after a mean of 13 days (P = .56). Nine (50%) of the 18 patients continued to be treated with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine throughout the duration of hypersensitivity, compared with all 15 patients who were treated with pyrimethamine/clindamycin (P = .002). Nine patients had to stop therapy with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine (two had Stevens-Johnson syndrome and one had Lyell's syndrome). Thus, treatment throughout the duration of hypersensitivity is more likely to succeed for patients receiving pyrimethamine/clindamycin, whereas therapy with pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine is associated with a high risk of Lyell's syndrome and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

[Abdominal surgical emergencies in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients. Apropos of 34 cases].

From September 1986 to September 1994, 34 emergency laparotomies were performed in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive patients. Patients were divided into 2 groups. Group A included 11 HIV seropositive patients without acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In these patients, indications for exploration included right lower quadrant pain consistent with appendicitis in 6 patients, right upper quadrant pain consistent with cholecystitis in 3 patients, small bowel obstruction in 1 patient, and blunt abdominal trauma in 1 patient. No postoperative deaths were observed. Group B included 23 AIDS patients. Indications for exploration were diffuse peritonitis in 8 patients, right lower quadrant pain consistent with appendicitis in 6 patients, right upper quadrant pain consistent with cholecystitis in 5 patients, bowel obstruction in 2 patients, diffuse abdominal pain in 1 patient, and massive rectal hemorrhage in 1 patient. The mortality rate in this group was 35% (8 out of 23 patients). Five of the 8 patients with diffuse peritonitis died postoperatively (62%). The importance of early diagnosis and prompt surgery is emphasized to improve the prognosis in AIDS patients, because of their poor general condition and the severity of abdominal complications.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Effect of corticosteroids on the incidence of adverse cutaneous reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole during treatment of AIDS-associated Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

We retrospectively studied all courses of treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) alone and with adjuvant corticosteroids for AIDS-associated Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. The corticosteroids were administered for 8-21 days (mean, 14 days) because of hypoxemia. We evaluated the influence of corticosteroids on the incidence of cutaneous adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ and on the course of AIDS during 3 months of follow-up. Of 38 patients treated with TMP-SMZ alone, 18 (47%) developed cutaneous side effects, whereas three (13%) of the 23 patients who received adjuvant corticosteroid therapy experienced such effects (P = .014). Of the 21 reactive patients, 14 were treated throughout the duration of hypersensitivity. Therapy was interrupted for seven patients (18%) treated with TMP-SMZ alone and for none of those who were given adjuvant corticosteroid therapy (P = .23). During follow-up, the incidence of mucocutaneous herpes simplex virus infection was higher among patients who received adjuvant corticosteroids than among those treated with TMP-SMZ alone (P = .005). Adjuvant corticosteroids thus reduce the incidence of adverse cutaneous reactions to TMP-SMZ in patients with AIDS who are treated for hypoxemic P. carinii pneumonia.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Adverse cutaneous reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

BACKGROUND AND DESIGN: Patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are predisposed to cutaneous drug reactions. The reasons are poorly understood and the circumstances in which such patients can be treated through hypersensitivity are a matter of discussion. We assessed the value of clinical and laboratory parameters for predicting trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-induced skin reactions and the effects of continued trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy in such patients. We retrospectively studied all episodes of nonhypoxemic Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who were treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. RESULTS: No clinical or laboratory parameters were found to be predictive of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-induced cutaneous reactions. Of 38 patients treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 18 (47%) developed cutaneous reactions; these occurred within a median of 11 days (range, 7 to 20 days). Of these 18 patients, 12 (67%) continued to be treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole through hypersensitivity. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole treatment was continued in 19 (95%) of the 20 patients who did not develop cutaneous reactions (P = .067). The mean duration of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy was shorter (18 days) in patients who developed skin reactions than in those who did not (20 days) (P = .016). Noncutaneous side effects accounted for all but one interruption of therapy. CONCLUSION: No clinical or laboratory parameters were found to be predictive of cutaneous reactions. By treating through hypersensitivity, 67% of our patients, who otherwise might have had to stop taking trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, were able to continue this essential drug therapy.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

AIDS-related cholangiopathy. Critical analysis of a prospective series of 26 patients.

Several types of biliary tract abnormality of undetermined origin have been described among AIDS patients. The aims of this study are: (1) to evaluate whether biliary tree involvement is in fact one or several homogeneous morphological entities, (2) to specify the role of CMV or Cryptosporidium sp. infection, and (3) to evaluate the possible efficacy of treatment. Since ultrasound had revealed abnormality in the biliary tree, 26 consecutive AIDS patients underwent cholangiography. Cholangiograms enabled us to distinguish between two types of biliary tract involvement: (1) gradual and regular stenosis of the terminal portion of the common bile duct associated with dilation but without irregularity of the intrahepatic biliary ducts was present in 27% of our cases, and (2) distal stenosis of the extrahepatic biliary ducts combined with diffuse irregularity of the caliber of the intrahepatic bile ducts was present in 73% of our cases. Concomitant infection by CMV or Cryptosporidium sp. was significantly more frequent when intrahepatic duct irregularities were present (94%) than when absent (14%, P < 0.001). Anti-CMV treatment and sphincterotomy were unsuccessful in treating anomalies of the intrahepatic biliary tract. Conversely, sphincterotomy caused rapid and lasting disappearance of pain in all our patients. In conclusion, biliary tract involvement in AIDS patients is of two types. CMV infection and infection by Cryptosporidium sp. are most frequent when the large intrahepatic ducts are implicated.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

A randomized trial of ivermectin versus albendazole for the treatment of cutaneous larva migrans.

In an open study, we compared the efficacy of single doses of oral ivermectin (12 mg) and oral albendazole (400 mg) for the treatment of cutaneous larva migrans. Twenty-one patients were randomly assigned to receive ivermectin (n = 10) or albendazole (n = 11). All patients who received ivermectin responded and none relapsed (cure rate = 100%). All but one patient in the group receiving albendazole responded, but five relapsed after a mean of 11 days (cure rate = 46%; P = 0.017). No major adverse effects were observed. We conclude that a single 12-mg dose of ivermectin is more effective than a single 400-mg dose of albendazole for the treatment of cutaneous larva migrans.

Administration, Oral↗

[Cutaneous signs of dengue. Apropos of 3 cases].

We report three cases of dengue with cutaneous signs that were observed in three women returning from Asia (and that were confirmed by serology). The exanthem has common characteristics: progressive appearance beginning on thewer limbs, macula-type elementary lesion associated with purpura, evolution in one single upward spread, confluent lesions with intervals of healthy skin, palmoplantar affection, disappearance of the eruption in an average of ten days, association with conjunctivitis in three cases, pharyngitis in two, epistaxis in two and haematuria in one. The lesions spread to the trunk in one patient only and another patient had pruritus. None of the patients showed signs of a state of shock. According to WHO and, despite the existence of haemorrhages and of a purpura, the three cases reported here cannot be considered as being dengue haemorrhagic fever due to the absence of hemoconcentration. The two types of cutaneous signs observed during the fever are described and their physiopathology is discussed.

Adult↗

The cutaneous form of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma in a woman from the Ivory Coast. Clinical, immunovirologic studies and a review of the African adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma cases.

A 36-year-old woman from Ivory Coast, who has lived in France since 1976, had multiple cutaneous nodules and tumors in 1988. Histopathologic studies showed a massive infiltration of the dermis and hypodermis by a diffuse proliferation of mature activated T-cells (CD4-positive, CD25-positive, HLA-DR-positive) with irregular nuclei. The patient did not present with a leukemic picture and only few lymphoid cells with abnormally shaped nuclei were present in the blood. Human T leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I) antibodies were present in the serum and specific HTLV-I pol sequences were detected in the DNA extracted from the tumor nodules and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) using the polymerase chain reaction technique. Whereas only a polyclonal integration of HTLV-I provirus was detectable in the PBMC, a clonal integration of three HTLV-I proviruses was demonstrated in the tumor nodules DNA, establishing with certainty the diagnosis of HTLV-I-induced adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). This case illustrates the need for molecular studies to differentiate without ambiguity an ATL from any other type of cutaneous lymphoproliferation, even when it occurs in a HTLV-I-seropositive individual. The situation of HTLV-I-associated ATL in Africa is reviewed.

Adult↗

Drug-induced toxic epidermal necrolysis (Lyell syndrome) in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

BACKGROUND: Although patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are predisposed to cutaneous adverse drug reactions, only a few cases of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) have been reported in this setting. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to examine the features of TEN in HIV-infected patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of all HIV-infected patients in a series of 80 consecutive cases of TEN during a 6-year period. RESULTS: Fourteen patients were HIV infected. They had typical TEN, with epidermal detachment involving 20.6% +/- 8.0% of the skin surface. Suspected drugs were sulfadiazine, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, sulfadoxine, clindamycin, phenobarbital, and chlormezanone. Patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) exhibit a dramatically increased risk of TEN. During our study period 15 cases of AIDS-associated TEN occurred in the greater Paris area, whereas 0.04 case would have been expected if the incidence of TEN were the same in these patients as in the general population. CONCLUSION: HIV-infected patients, especially those with AIDS, may develop TEN that shares many similarities with the disease in immunocompetent patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗