A recurrent rash with fever and arthropathy.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Sharon E Jacob.
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The roots of education in patch testing begin with Jadassohn and have been passed down through generations of dermatologists through didactic teachings and mentoring. Currently, we are faced with workforce economics tipping the balance of dermatology toward cosmetic and surgical practices. This imbalance is easily found in the subspecialty of contact dermatitis, where the current demand for patch test services is on the rise and the number of new dermatology-based patch test providers cannot keep up with the current demand. Steps are being made to remedy this discrepancy through societies and fellowships, yet the question remains: were the steps in time and were they big enough?
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The following paper reviews the recent literature pertaining to allergic contact dermatitis in the pediatric population. RECENT FINDINGS: Allergic contact dermatitis may affect as many as 20% of the pediatric population. Recent studies implicate the following chemicals as the most common causes: nickel, topical antibiotics, preservative chemicals, fragrances and rubber accelerators. Several less common, but emerging, allergens have also been reported recently, including para-phenylenediamine in henna tattoos, cocamidopropyl betaine in 'no tears' shampoos and cleansers, and disperse dyes in clothing materials. Allergic contact dermatitis occurs less frequently in the first few months of life and increases in prevalence with increasing age. In the adolescent age group, females have significantly higher rates of allergic contact dermatitis on the face. This is likely explained by increased exposures to nickel in piercings and to preservative and fragrance chemicals in cosmetic products. SUMMARY: The documented rates of allergic contact dermatitis in children are on the rise. This increased prevalence may be due to increased chemical exposures in this age group, better recognition by pediatricians and perhaps more widespread use of epicutaneous patch testing. This review outlines the basic pathophysiology, epidemiology and clinical manifestations of allergic contact dermatitis in children.
Scleromyxedema is a rare dermatological disorder marked by widespread symmetric 2- to 3-mm, firm, waxy, closely spaced papules involving the hands, forearms, face, neck, upper trunk and thighs. The most common extracutaneous manifestation of scleromyxedema is a benign plasma cell dyscrasia. Treatment of scleromyxedema is limited by the lack of long-term results, toxicity and significant adverse side effects. We report a severe case of scleromyxedema who had marked improvement when treated with thalidomide.
Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is an important disease with high quality of life and economic impact. Patch testing is the procedure by which identification of the cause of ACD can be elicited. Proper performance of the test, from taking an appropriate patient history to placing the correct allergens to evaluating and educating the patient, is of utmost importance. The purpose of this article is to highlight common allergens encountered in our environment, to increase awareness for this important disease, and to underscore the importance of this testing modality. An early index of suspicion can lead to appropriate testing, diagnosis, avoidance, and cure.
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BACKGROUND: Dermatologic surgery is a common practice among dermatologists; consequently, there is an increased number of exposures to potential contact allergens in the surgical setting. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to alert the clinician to the most common allergens associated with the use of surgical products. CONCLUSIONS: Increased awareness will lead to early diagnosis and allergen avoidance.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether etanercept therapy enables long-term psoriasis patients to discontinue systemic psoriatic therapy. METHODS: Charts from psoriatic patients on etanercept therapy seen at the Department of Dermatology and Dermatolgic Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA, between June 2002 and October 2003, were evaluated retrospectively. The duration of disease, adverse events to "standard" systemic psoriatic therapy, and current therapy were reviewed. IRB: 03/582C. RESULTS: A large proportion of patients (73.5%) were able to decrease or discontinue their traditional systemic agent while on etanercept. CONCLUSIONS: Etanercept is a safe and effective therapy in chronic moderate to severe psoriasis. In patients who are receiving systemic therapy for their disease and alternative therapy is warranted, etanercept can be added with the aim to discontinue the other systemic agents.
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BACKGROUND: Bacitracin is an antibiotic that is produced by Bacillus subtilis, which is used in several types of consumer products, including cosmetics and ophthalmic and cutaneous ointments. OBJECTIVE: To call attention to the rising allergic contact dermatitis associated with bacitracin. RESULTS: Mass usage has resulted in an increasing number of clinically relevant allergic contact dermatitis reactions and near fatal anaphylaxis. The North American Contact Dermatitis Group has recorded its emergence as a leading allergen and continues to monitor the ever-growing allergic reaction rates. CONCLUSION: The clinical impact, scientific evidence, and need for medical cost containment all advocate the discontinuation of routine usage of bacitracin in clean surgical wounds.
A 60-year-old white woman with polycythemia rubra vera post splenectomy in November 2001 was found to have peripheral white blood cell counts increasing over 3 months. Cytogenetics revealed trisomy of chromosomes 8 and 9, and bone marrow biopsy showed hypercellular, fibrotic bone marrow consistent with myelofibrosis of polycythemia rubra vera. Two months later, the patient developed acute swelling and pain in her lower extremities. The clinical symptoms along with confirmatory histology supported the diagnosis of eosinophilic fasciitis. This is the first reported case in the English literature of an association between polycythemia vera and eosinophilic fasciitis.
We report a case of an unusual presentation of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) in a patient with Crohn's disease (CD). She presented to our Wound Care Center with 7th cranial nerve palsy and facial pyoderma-like ulcerations. Although WG has a predilection for the lung, kidney, and eyes, cutaneous involvement can be seen in 50% of the cases, and it can be the presenting sign in 9-14%. Because of the lethality of WG if not properly treated, the diagnosis is imperative.
BACKGROUND: Psoriatic plaques have been shown to contain increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-7, IL-8, and interferon (IFN)-gamma have been reported elevated in psoriatic patients. AIM: To evaluate serum cytokine profiles in psoriasis patients by improved enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique and to correlate these levels with disease severity. METHODS: We analyzed single serum samples from 10 patients with active untreated psoriasis, two patients with active treated psoriasis, and five healthy volunteers for major T helper type 1 and T helper type 2 cytokines using the LINCOplex ELISA multi-analyte detection system that permits simultaneous detection of multiple cytokines from a single sample. The disease severity, including erythema, induration, scale, and surface area, was assessed. RESULTS: IFN-gamma was markedly elevated in all sera from psoriasis patients, 33.8 +/- 1.3 pg/ml (mean +/- standard error) versus 8 +/- 1.5 pg/ml for normal controls (p < 0.01), and positively correlated with all indices of disease severity (Spearman r > 0.6). IL-8 was also increased in psoriasis patients (24.4 +/- 1.8 pg/ml) versus normal controls (3.6 +/- 1.2 pg/ml) (p < 0.05) and positively correlated with the degree of erythema (Spearman r > 0.6). Mean IL-12 levels were decreased in sera from psoriasis patients (8.5 +/- 1.2 pg/ml) compared with normal controls (42.2 +/- 5.3 pg/ml) (p < 0.01). Also, serum IL-10 levels were below detection levels in psoriatics compared with controls (6.4 +/- 1.3 pg/ml). CONCLUSIONS: This new ELISA system allowed rapid and reliable detection of numerous cytokines in single serum samples from patients with psoriasis. We observed that IFN-gamma and IL-8 cytokines were elevated in psoriatics and correlated with parameters of disease severity while IL-10 and IL-12 were decreased.
Pityriasis rosea is a common skin disease that has been suspected to have a viral etiology. We performed nested polymerase chain reaction to detect human herpesvirus-7, human herpesvirus-6, and cytomegalovirus DNA in lesional skin, nonlesional skin, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, serum, and saliva samples isolated from 14 pityriasis rosea patients. Viral mRNA expression and virion visualization within lesional skin were studied by in situ hybridization and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. By nested polymerase chain reaction, human herpesvirus-7 DNA was present in lesional skin (93%), nonlesional skin (86%), saliva (100%), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (83%), and serum (100%) samples, whereas human herpesvirus-6 DNA was detected in lesional skin (86%), nonlesional skin (79%), saliva (80%), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (83%), and serum (88%) samples. By contrast, cytomegalovirus DNA was not detected in these tissues. Control samples from 12 healthy volunteers and 10 psoriasis patients demonstrated rare positivity for either human herpesvirus-7 or human herpesvirus-6 DNA in skin or serum. By in situ hybridization, infiltrating mononuclear cells expressing human herpesvirus-7 and human herpesvirus-6 mRNA were identified in perivascular and periappendageal areas in 100% and 75% pityriasis rosea skin lesions, respectively, compared to herpesviral mRNA positivity in only 13% normal skin and psoriasis skin controls. Transmission electron microscopy failed to reveal herpesviral virions in pityriasis rosea lesional skin. Nested polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization enabled detection of human herpesvirus-7 and human herpesvirus-6 in skin and other tissues isolated from patients with pityriasis rosea. These results suggest that pityriasis rosea is associated with systemic active infection with both human herpesvirus-7 and human herpesvirus-6.