Differences in Disease-specific Quality of Life in Patients with Actinic Keratosis in Australia and Denmark

Actinic keratosis (AK) negatively influence patients’quality of life as measured by the disease-specific AKQOL questionnaire. The quality of life in Australian patients are significantly less affected than in Danish patients. It is hypothesised that general factors, such as public awareness and cultural connotations, may  influence the impact of AK on QoL.</p

Hidradenitis suppurativa is associated with higher heart rate but not atrial fibrillation: A comparative cross-sectional study of 462 individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa in Denmark

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory dermatological disease with inflammatory mechanisms overlapping those of psoriasis, and both diseases have been associated with cardiovascular risk factors i.e. smoking and metabolic syndrome. Two studies have recently linked psoriasis with Atrial Fibrillation (AF). AF is the most frequently occurring cardiac arrhythmia in the general population and is typically accompanied by increased heart rate. Both AF and heart rate are linked with inflammation.The aim of the study was to investigate a potential association between HS and increased heart rate as well as AF.We performed a comparative cross-sectional study using digital measurements of heart rate and resting 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) in combination with self-reported information when diagnosing AF.Our study comprised 32 individuals with HS from the hospital (the hospital HS group), 430 from the general population HS group (the population HS group), and 20,780 controls. Age and sex adjusted analysis demonstrated a significantly higher heart rate in the HS groups vs. controls (15% (range: 8-23%) higher for the hospital HS group and 4% (2-5%) higher for the population HS group). We found no association between HS and AF (P=0.1670). </p

Hidradenitis suppurativa is associated with higher heart rate but not atrial fibrillation: A comparative cross-sectional study of 462 individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa in Denmark

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory dermatological disease with inflammatory mechanisms overlapping those of psoriasis, and both diseases have been associated with cardiovascular risk factors i.e. smoking and metabolic syndrome. Two studies have recently linked psoriasis with Atrial Fibrillation (AF). AF is the most frequently occurring cardiac arrhythmia in the general population and is typically accompanied by increased heart rate. Both AF and heart rate are linked with inflammation.The aim of the study was to investigate a potential association between HS and increased heart rate as well as AF.We performed a comparative cross-sectional study using digital measurements of heart rate and resting 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) in combination with self-reported information when diagnosing AF.Our study comprised 32 individuals with HS from the hospital (the hospital HS group), 430 from the general population HS group (the population HS group), and 20,780 controls. Age and sex adjusted analysis demonstrated a significantly higher heart rate in the HS groups vs. controls (15% (range: 8-23%) higher for the hospital HS group and 4% (2-5%) higher for the population HS group). We found no association between HS and AF (P=0.1670). </p

The Global Hidradenitis Suppurativa Atlas (GHiSA) methodology: Combining global proportions in a pooled analysis

Introduction: Data concerning the global burden of Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) are limited. Reported prevalence estimates vary between 0.0003% and 4.1%, and data from various geographical regions are still to be collected. Previously reported prevalence rates have been limited by the methodological approach and source of data. This has resulted in great heterogeneity as prevalence data from physician-diagnosed cases poorly match those of self-reported apparent HS disease. Methods: The Global Hidradenitis Suppurativa Atlas (GHiSA) introduces an innovative approach to determine the global prevalence of HS. This approach involves using a previously validated questionnaire to screen apparently healthy adults accompanying a patient to a non-dermatological outpatient clinic visit in a hospital. The screening questionnaire (i.e., the index test) is combined with a subsequent physician-based in-person validation (i.e., the reference standard) of the participants who screen positive. Ten percent of the screen-negative participants are also clinically assessed to verify the diagnostic precision of the test. The local prevalence (pi) will be estimated from each country that submits the number of patients who are HS positive according to the index test and clinical examination (n), and the corresponding total number of observations (N). Conclusion: The GHiSA Global Prevalence studies are currently running simultaneously in 58 countries across six continents (Africa, Europe, Australia, North America, South America, and Asia). The goal of the combined global proportion is the generation of a single summary (i.e., proportional meta-analysis), which will be done after a logit transformation, and synthesized using a random-effects model. The novel standardization of the Global Prevalence studies conducted through GHiSA enables direct international comparisons, which were previously not possible due to substantial heterogeneity in past HS prevalence studies

Darier's Disease Flare following COVID-19 Vaccine

Darier's disease is a rare genodermatosis characterized clinically by dyskeratotic papules in the seborrheic and intertriginous areas and nail abnormalities. Dyskeratosis and acantholysis are typical histological findings. Darier's disease is not known to be inflammatory by nature as inflammation occurs primarily due to local infections, and it may therefore differ from inflammatory dermatoses such as psoriasis and cutaneous lupus in response to antigen stimulation. Known triggers of Darier's disease primarily include exogenous factors such as sun exposure, friction, or infection. We present a case of a 47-year-old white female with a flare of Darier's disease 2 days following her first vaccination with COVID-19 vaccine (ChAdOx1-s [recombinant]) (Vaxzevria(®) [previously known as COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca]). In this case report, we discuss possible mechanisms linking the vaccination and the flare of Darier's disease. We consider inflammatory mechanisms as well as a random co-occurrence. Due to the close time-related association between the disease flare and the COVID-19 vaccination, we find an urge to make other clinicians aware of a possible association