Evaluation of COVID-19 risk in patients on systemic retinoid therapy

Background and Design: Systemic retinoids are commonly used medications in dermatology and indicated in various skin disorders such as acne vulgaris and psoriasis. Data about the risk of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in patients using systemic retinoids are limited. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the risk of COVID-19 in patients undergoing systemic retinoid therapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 186 patients who have undergone systemic isotretinoin and acitretin therapy were recruited. Patients who presented to the dermatology clinic for various skin diseases, such as eczema, vitiligo, tinea, etc., who were not on systemic retinoid therapy, and who received topical medications comprised the control group. The development of COVID-19 in the retinoid therapy group and the control group was retrospectively reviewed using hospital database. Results: The mean age of the patients in the retinoid therapy group was 25.72 +/- 0.67 and that in the control group was 25.4 +/- 0.62. Moreover,165 patients received isotretinoin, and 21 patients received acitretin treatment. The isotretinoin dosage ranged from 0.5 to 0.8 mg/kg wheras the acitretin dosage ranged between 10 and 25 mg/day. Two patients (1.07%) in the retinoid therapy group and 8 (4.3%) patients in the control group were diagnosed with COVID-19. None of the patients receiving acitretin was diagnosed with COVID-19. COVID-19 diagnosis was established in the 2nd and 3rd months of isotretinoin treatment, and lung involvement was not observed. No significant difference regarding the number of COVID-19 cases and disease severity was found between the two groups (p=0.105; p=0.258, respectively). Conclusion: Isotretinoin and acitretin use was not associated with increased COVID-19 risk or disease severity. Systemic retinoids appear to be a safe treatment modality in the COVID-19 era

No Relationship Between Blood Groups and Psoriatic Arthritis

Purpose: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory musculoskeletal disease. The exact causes of PsA have not been identified. ABO and Rh blood groups continue to be an area of interest for various diseases. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether there is any difference in the distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups in PsA. Materials and Methods: 233 PsA patients (PsA group) consecutively referred to the adult rheumatology outpatient clinics of a tertiary care hospital of central Anatolia between January 2019 and June 2020 were enrolled. The blood groups of the PsA group were compared with the blood groups of 6280 individuals who tested before elective operations at the same hospital between 1 January 2019 and 31 June 2020 (Control Group). Fourteen of the control group were excluded due to the presence of psoriasis/PsA in their medical records. In addition, the blood groups of 38.416 people who voluntarily donated blood to the Turkish Red Crescent Kayseri Blood Center between January 1, 2019 and July 1, 2020 (donor group) were compared with the blood groups of the control group. Results: There was no significant difference between the PsA patients and the control group in any blood group, both in women, men and also cumulatively. Conclusion: The result of the study shows there is no significant difference in the blood groups between patients with PsA and the control group

A recalcitrant case of facial verruca plana successfully treated with topical calcipotriol alone

Dear Editor, Verruca plana is a benign epidermal proliferative cutaneous condition mainly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 3 and 10. HPV 27, 28, 38, 41, and 49 may also rarely cause verruca plana.1 Face located plane warts usually cause important aesthetic concerns in patients and lead them to seek treatment. The management of verruca plana poses a therapeutic challenge for clinicians, as there is no single method that has been proven to be efficient for completely treating the disease..

A pediatric recalcitrant case of perioral dermatitis successfully treated with topical 0.03% tacrolimus alone

Dear Editor,Perioral dermatitis is a common acneiform eruption characterized byerythematous to skin-colored papular and pustular lesions locatedaround the eyes, nose, and mouth. It may affect both adults and chil-dren. Perioral dermatitis has been shown in patients as young as3 months. The etiology of the entity is clearly unknown. However,many of the patients have a history of atopic diathesis. The diagnosisis usually made based on clinical features (Kellen & Silverberg, 2017)..

Vitamin B12: An underestimated cause of acneiform drug eruption

Dear Editor,Acneiform drug eruption is a type of adverse drug reaction character-ized by monomorphic papulopustular lesions. There are a limited num-ber of studies focusing on vitamin B12-induced acneiform eruption(BIAE) in the relevant literature.1,2In this study, we retrospectivelyanalyzed the clinical characteristics of BIAE in a consecutive series of32 patients who were admitted to the dermatology departments ofAhi Evran University and Kozan State Hospital over the last 3 years.Collected demographic and clinical data for each patient included age,sex, history of medication, previous experience with vitamin B12,symptoms, morphology, distribution and duration of the eruption, andthe treatment used. Causality assessment between vitamin B12intakeand BIAE was mainly based on the diagnostic criteria for drug reac-tions that have been originally proposed by Naranjo et al3For theselection of the 32 patients, the inclusion criteria were as follows..

The COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Male Patients With Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria More Than Female Patients

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically disrupts health care for patients with chronic diseases including chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). As of now, it is unknown if the effects of the pandemic in CSU are different than in other chronic diseases. We also do not know, if different groups of CSU patients, for example female and male patients, are affected differently. Aim: To understand how CSU patients and subgroups are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in their disease activity and control and treatment, using psoriasis as control. Patients and Methods: We analyzed 399 patients (450 visits) with CSU or psoriasis assessed during August 2019, i.e. before the pandemic, or August 2020, i.e. during the pandemic, for changes in disease activity, disease control, and the treatment they used, and how these changes are linked to age, gender, and disease duration. Results: Male but not female patients with CSU had markedly increased disease activity during the pandemic. CSU patients' age or disease duration were not linked to changes. Male and female patients with psoriasis showed similar increases in disease activity and decreases in disease control. The rate of omalizumab treatment, during the pandemic, was unchanged in male patients and increased in female patients with CSU. The efficacy of omalizumab treatment, during the pandemic, was reduced in male patients but not female patients with CSU. Conclusion: Male but not female CSU patients, during the COVID-19 pandemic, show loss of disease control linked to loss of omalizumab efficacy. The reasons for this need to be investigated

Clinical, Demographic and Treatment Characteristics of Pediatric Psoriasis: A Multicenter Study of 150 Patients

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Many studies have focused on the epidemiological features of adult and childhood psoriasis. However, only a few studies have been conducted to demonstrate the clinical and demographic characteristics of pediatric psoriasis in Turkey. This study aimed to determine clinical, demographic, and treatment characteristics of childhood psoriasis in a multicenter series.MATERIALS and METHODS: This study was conducted in four different centers that are located in four cities of Turkey between June 2016 and June 2020. The demographic parameters, possible triggering factors (emotional stress, physical trauma, infection, and medication), and clinical characteristics (psoriasis type, psoriasis area severity index, involved areas, nail involvement, joint involvement, subjective symptoms, disease duration, last treatments and duration of use, and history of accompanying diseases) of pediatric patients with psoriasis were retrospectively analyzed.RESULTS: A total of 150 patients from four different centers were enrolled in the study, of whom 71 (47.30%) were males and 79 (52.70%) were females, with a mean age of 13.71 +/- 42 years (age range: 1-18 years). A family history of psoriasis was determined in 20 (13.33%) patients. Possible triggering factors included emotional stress (n=90, 60%), physical trauma (n=21, 14%), infection (n=14, 9.33%), and medication (n=1, 1.67%). The most common area of involvement was the trunk (n=69, 46%) followed by the scalp (n=42, 28%), hand (n=20, 13.33%), and face (n=19, 12.67%). The prevalence of clinical types was as follows: plaque (n=125,83.33%), guttate (n=10, 6.67%), palmoplantar (n=7, 4.67%), inverse (n=6, 4%), and pustular (n=2, 1.33%) psoriasis. Nail and joint involvement were observed in 30 (20%) and 15 (10%) patients, respectively. The last treatments received included topical treatment (n=101, 67.33%), phototherapy (n=23, 15.33%), acitretin (n=16,10.67%), methotrexate (n=9, 6%), and cyclosporine (n=1, 0.67%).CONCLUSION: In our cohort, the clinical types and treatments used for childhood psoriasis were similar to those of other studies, but the rate of family history was lower, whereas the incidence of emotional stress was higher. Addressing the psychological impacts of psoriasis along with its physical aspects may provide better treatment outcomes