Content - Volume 86, Issue 3

Creams, ointments and solutions applied to the skin surface by patients as part of a daily routine might be expected to provide a more variable dosage than do standard tablets. However, adherence to treatment in dermatology has been little studied. This article reviews recent publications in the field. These are dominated by questionnaire­-based studies, which tend to over-estimate adherence. Red ...

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of chronic dermatological diseases on quality of life (QoL) of Norwegian patients following in-patient management. QoL was measured by the Norwegian version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index, a validated, self-administered questionnaire. Adult in-patients with psoriasis and eczema were selected for one year from the dermatological department ...

Effectively co-ordinated treatment support from health­care providers (doctors, nurses and pharmacists) may improve patients’ adherence to treatment. The objective of this study was to identify patients’ and providers’ perceptions of the roles of different healthcare providers in dermatological treatment. Focus groups were used in two types of fora: patients with chronic dermatological dise ...

Vitiligo has been associated with the host’s genetic profile, metabolic abnormality and immunostatus. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of vitiligo with autoimmune diseases for 31 out of 39 subjects with vitiligo and their first-degree relatives living in a small Caucasian inbred rural community. They were compared with healthy individuals. A 2.28% prevalence of vitili ...

Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome are severe blistering diseases generally consider­ed to be hypersensitivity reaction to drugs. The aim of this study is to explore the diagnostic role of soluble Fas ligand secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with previous drug-induced blistering diseases with or without stimulation with the offend­ing drug. ...

Solid organ transplant recipients have a high incidence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and often develop multiple and aggressive tumours. This retrospective study based on the Swedish organ transplant cohort, focuses on the deaths caused by cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and aims to elucidate the clinicopathological features of these tumours. The cohort comprised 5931 patients who underwe ...

Diagnostic approaches to onychomycosis have traditionally been based on a combination of culture and microscopy. In the present study clinical specimens from 346 patients with suspected onychomycosis were analy­sed by 18S polymerase chain reaction (detection) followed by sequencing and subsequent database search (identification) in parallel with routine culture on agar (detection and identificati ...

Treatment of symptomatic oral lichen planus remains a challenging problem. This study compared the efficacy of topical tacrolimus ointment with triamcinolone acetonide ointment in patients with oral lichen planus. Twenty patients (group I) were treated with topical tacrolimus 0.1% ointment 4 times daily, and 20 (group II) were treated with triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% ointment 4 times daily. The c ...

In November 2000, we became aware of isolates of Staphylo­coccus aureus with borderline resistance to oxacillin (BORSA) from patients in the Department of Dermatology, Aarhus University Hospital. The objective was to describe the isolates phenotypically and genotypically and to assess possible transmission routes in order to intervene and prevent further spread. Clonality of the isolates was conf ...

Congenital melanocytic naevi may be disfiguring and potentially malignant. Treatment with lasers is a relatively new option, and promising results have been published. Most studies include few patients, and describe the effect of different lasers and different techniques. The aim of this report is to evaluate the results of ruby laser treat­ment on facial congenital naevi in children. Fourteen ch ...

Numerous surgical methods have been introduced to treat osmidrosis. However, many problems with wound healing have been reported, including haematoma, seroma, skin necrosis and severe scarring. Ultrasound energy liquefies sweat glands via cavitation, but minimally affects blood vessels and nerves at the same energy level. Our patient was treated with ultrasonic surgical aspiration, which allowed t ...

Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) is characterized by fever, rash and internal organ involvement after exposure to certain drugs. Most of the aromatic anticonvulsants, such as phenytoin, phenobarbital, and carbamazepine, can induce DRESS. Cross-sensitivity between not only the aromatic anticonvulsants, but also the aromatic and non-aromatic anticonvulsants, is possible. We ...

Malignant atrophic papulosis (Degos’ disease) is a very rare condition characterized by atrophic papular skin lesions and variable association of systemic involvement. We describe a 33-year-old man who presented with a widespread skin eruption consistent with malignant atrophic papulosis. During the course of the disease he even developed penile ulcerations, a symptom that has been reported only ...

Persistent post-occupational dermatitis is a phenomenon that is well-recognized by occupational dermatologists, but there have been few studies on it. In view of this, we proposed to assess the prevalence of this phenomenon in an English setting and ascertain the characteristics of the patients affected. Using modified criteria adapted from previous studies, details of 1100 patients seen in a cont ...