Health related quality of life in patients with anogenital warts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) instruments are an important tool for the evaluation of medical outcomes. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) influence the patients' life. We aimed to evaluate the HRQoL in patients with anogenital warts at the time of and 1 month after the diagnosis.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>We used the short-form (SF)-36 questionnaire to compare the HRQoL of 91 patients with anogenital warts to 53 control subjects with the same socioeconomic characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no statistical difference in the overall HRQoL measurement between the anogenital wart patients and controls. However, there was an improvement in the scales of vitality (65.22 ± 15.70 vs. 69.04 ± 14.11, respectively; p < 0.05) and mental health (65.00 ± 20.09 vs. 69.43 ± 18.08, respectively; p < 0.05) in anogenital warts patients between the time of diagnosis and 1 month later. Furthermore, there was a significant deterioration in the scale of social functioning (73.47 ± 22.18 vs. 72.89 ± 19.28, respectively; p < 0.05). The small sample size is a limitation of our study.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>HRQoL does not appear to be influenced in anogenital wart patients, as measured by the generic instrument SF-36. It is therefore important to develop specific instruments for the measurement of HRQoL in this group of patients.</p

Skin Biopsy in the Context of Dermatological Diagnosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background. Skin biopsy is an established method for allying the dermatologist in overcoming the diagnostic dilemmas which occur during consultations. However neither do all skin biopsies produce a conclusive diagnosis nor the dermatologists routinely perform this procedure to every patient they consult. The aim of this study was to investigate the favourable clinical diagnoses set by dermatologists when performing skin biopsy, the diagnoses reached by the dermatopathologists after microscopic examination, and the relationship between them and finally to comment on the instances that skin biopsy fails to fulfill the diagnostic task. Methods. Six thousand eight hundred and sixteen biopsy specimens were reviewed and descriptive statistics were performed. Results. The mean age of the patients was 54.58 ± 0.26 years, the most common site of biopsy was the head and neck (38.3%), the most frequently proposed clinical diagnoses included malignancies (19.28%), and the most prevalent pathological diagnosis was epitheliomas (21.9%). After microscopic examination, a specific histological diagnosis was proposed in 83.29% of the cases and a consensus between clinical and histological diagnoses was observed in 68% of them. Conclusions. Although there are cases that skin biopsy exhibits diagnostic inefficiency, it remains a valuable aid for the dermatology clinical practice

Complications of botulinum toxin and fillers: A narrative review.

n/

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia consists of a heterogenous group of inherited disorders due to enzymatic defects in the biosynthetic pathway of cortisol and/or aldosterone. This results in glucocorticoid deficiency, mineralocorticoid deficiency, and androgen excess. 95% of CAH cases are due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Clinical forms range from the severe, classical CAH associated with complete loss of enzyme function, to milder, non-classical forms (NCAH). Androgen excess affects the pilosebaceous unit, causing cutaneous manifestations such as acne, androgenetic alopecia and hirsutism. Clinical differential diagnosis between NCAH and polycystic ovary syndrome may be difficult. In this review, the evaluation of patients with suspected CAH, the clinical presentation of CAH forms, with emphasis on the cutaneous manifestations of the disease, and available treatment options, will be discussed

The Microbiome and Acne: Perspectives for Treatment

Abstract The skin microbiome consists of the microorganisms populating the human skin. Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes, formerly named Propionibacterium acnes) is recognized as a key factor in acne development, regulating inflammatory and immune pathways. Dysbiosis has been described as the imbalance in skin microbiome homeostasis and may play a role in acne pathogenesis. Microbial interference has been shown to be a contributor to healthy skin homeostasis and staphylococcal strains may exclude acne-associated C. acnes phylotypes. In this review we present an update on the skin microbiome in acne and discuss how current acne treatments such as benzoyl peroxide, orally administered isotretinoin, and antibiotics may affect the skin microbiome homeostasis. We highlight the collateral damage of acne antibiotics on the skin microbiome, including the risk of antimicrobial resistance and the dysregulation of the microbiome equilibrium that may occur even with short-term antibiotic courses. Consequently, the interest is shifting towards new non-antibiotic pharmacological acne treatments. Orally administered spironolactone is an emerging off-label treatment for adult female patients and topical peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) modulation is being studied for patients with acne. The potential application of topical or oral probiotics, bacteriotherapy, and phage therapy for acne are further promising areas of future research

Pigmentation disorders: hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation

Pigmentation disorders include a large number of heterogeneous conditions that are usually characterized by altered melanocyte density, melanin concentration, or both, and result in altered pigmentation of the skin. Some of these disorders are extremely common (melasma, vitiligo), whereas others are rare. In this contribution, we review the most common pigmentation disorders that appear on the face. These lesions, even though mostly asymptomatic, have a great impact on a patient’s quality of life. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved