Epidemiology of pemphigus in Turkey: One-year prospective study of 220 cases

Pemphigus is a group of rare and life-threatening autoimmune blistering diseases of the skin and mucous membranes. Although they occur worldwide, their incidence shows wide geographical variation, and prospective data on the epidemiology of pemphigus are very limited. Objective of this work is to evaluate the incidence and epidemiological and clinical features of patients with pemphigus in Turkey. All patients newly diagnosed with pemphigus between June 2013 and June 2014 were prospectively enrolled in 33 dermatology departments in 20 different provinces from all seven regions of Turkey. Disease parameters including demography and clinical findings were recorded. A total of 220 patients were diagnosed with pemphigus during the 1-year period, with an annual incidence of 4.7 per million people in Turkey. Patients were predominantly women, with a male to female ratio of 1:1.41. The mean age at onset was 48.9 years. Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) was the commonest clinical subtype (n=192; 87.3%), followed by pemphigus foliaceus (n=21; 9.6%). The most common clinical subtype of PV was the mucocutaneous type (n=83; 43.2%). The mean Pemphigus Disease Area Index was 28.14±22.21 (mean ± Standard Deviation).  The incidence rate of pemphigus in Turkey is similar to the countries of South-East Europe, higher than those reported for the Central and Northern European countries and lower than the countries around the Mediterranean Sea and Iran. Pemphigus is more frequent in middle-aged people and is more common in women. The most frequent subtype was PV, with a 9-fold higher incidence than pemphigus foliaceus.   </p

Baboon syndrome and segmental vitiligo coexistence

The baboon syndrome is a form of systemic contact dermatitis with skin eruptions in the area of the buttocks and major flexures. Inhalation of mercury vapor causes this rare but distinctive eruption. Broken thermometers are the usual sources of exposure. We hereby present a 14-year-old boy diagnosed with baboon syndrome coexistence with vitiligo, due to broken thermometers. In our case, it was interesting that erythematous eruptions were more evident on the vitiliginous side of the trunk. To our knowledge, there have been no reports in the literature of baboon syndrome and vitiligo coexistence

Patients with vulval pruritus: patch test results

Background: Persistent vulval pruritus is a frequent problem and patients may not show signs of a primary vulval dermatosis. Allergic contact sensitivity is an important factor in such patients but may also occur as a secondary event in women with vulval dermatoses

Investigation of adenosine deaminase activity in patients with mycosis fungoides

Background and Design: Mycosis fungoides (ME) is a cutaneous T cell lymphoma. The clinical and histopathological diagnosis of early mycosis fungoides is usually difficult. There is no special laboratory method for the diagnosis of ME and this is the most important problem in diagnosis and follow up the effectiveness of treatment. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity is a non-specific marker of T cell activation. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the levels of plasma and tissue ADA in patients with mycosis fungoides and to determine if ADA is an activation criterion for this disease

Clinical features of Behcet's disease in children

Background Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory vasculitis of young adults with unknown etiology

Accidental benzalkonium chloride (zephiran) injection

We report a case of an accidental injection of benzalkonium chloride (zephiran) instead of a local anesthetic agent during a tooth extraction. The sudden development of chin and neck swelling led to dyspnea and the patient lost consciousness. She was sent to an emergency clinic by her dentist immediately. After medical treatment for 20 days, the necrotic tissue was debrided and a gingival sulcoplasty was performed. Healing was uneventful. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2011;112:e103-e105

Clinical evaluation of roxithromycin: A double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover trial in patients with acne vulgaris

We clinically evaluated roxithromycin (ROM) in a double blind, placebo-controlled, and crossover trial in patients with inflammatory acne. Patients with inflammatory acne who were attending our outpatient clinic for treatment and who had not received topical or systemic treatment for the previous month were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomly separated into two groups. Group I consisted of 26 patients. The patients received 2 x 150 mg/day ROM orally in the first period and 2 x I placebo tablets/day in the second period. Group 11 consisted of 20 patients. These patients received 2 x I placebo tablets/day in the first period and 2 x 150 mg/day ROM orally in the second period. The first period was the first four weeks, and then there was a washout period of two weeks (5th and 6th). The second period was the next four weeks (7th to 10th weeks) after the washout period. Median acne scores had clearly decreased in both groups at the end of the study. Differences of median acne scores were statistically significant in both groups between at baseline and at the end of the study (p< 0.001). The results showed that ROM is a safe and effective alternative in the treatment of inflammatory acne with few side effects and good compliance

Prevalence of Cutaneous Findings in Hospitalized Neonates: A Prospective Observational Study

To determine the frequency of physiologic and pathologic skin findings in the newborns hospitalized in our Newborn Unit