RESUMEN
Pediatric tinea capitis displays a wide range of prevalence, with significant variability among populations. We retrospectively extracted the medical records of 456 pediatric patients diagnosed with tinea capitis during the years 2010-2021, from the dermatology outpatient clinics in two tertiary medical centers. Three species were isolated in 90% of patients: T. tonsurans, M. canis, and T. violaceum. While T. tonsurans presented a six-fold increase in incidence during the years 2019-2021, M. canis maintained stable incidence rates. Furthermore, terbinafine was the most efficient antifungal agent against T. tonsurans, achieving complete clinical clearance in 95% of patients, as compared to fluconazole (68%) and griseofulvin (38%) (p < 0.001). The mycological cure was recorded in 61/90 (68%) of patients with available data, at an average of 10 weeks. For patients with M. canis, griseofulvin and fluconazole were equally efficient (73% and 66%, respectively) (p = 0.44). Kerion was described in 36% and 14% of patients with T. tonsurans and M. canis, respectively, (p < 0.001). In conclusion, since 2019, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of T. tonsurans, establishing this pathogen as the most common cause for tinea capitis in our population. Our data suggest that terbinafine is effective and presents high cure rates for tinea capitis in the pediatric population.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence indicates that several hematological markers can be used to evaluate treatment response, prediction, and early relapse detection in different inflammatory conditions. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-neutrophil ratio, mean platelet volume, and disease activity in patients with pemphigus vulgaris. METHODS: Fifty-six patients (20 men, 36 women; mean age 54 ± 14 years) diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris were included in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into those treated and not treated with rituximab (groups 1 and 2), and into those who did and did not develop relapse (groups 3 and 4). The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-neutrophil ratio and mean platelet volume were evaluated at the time of diagnosis, remission, and relapse. The relationship between each marker and disease stage was analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for pairwise comparisons. RESULTS: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio showed a positive correlation with disease activity, while the platelet-to-neutrophil ratio and mean platelet volume showed a negative correlation. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio significantly decreased in remission (p < 0.001) and significantly increased in relapse (p < 0.01). The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio significantly decreased in remission (p < 0.001) and showed no significant change in relapse. The platelet-to-neutrophil ratio significantly increased in remission (p < 0.001) and significantly decreased at relapse (p < 0.001). The mean platelet volume significantly increased in remission (p < 0.001) and decreased non-significantly at relapse. A more significant decrease in the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in remission was found in patients not treated with rituximab. No significant differences were observed between patients who developed relapse and those who did not. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-neutrophil ratio, and mean platelet volume can be useful markers for monitoring treatment response, while the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio can also assist in detecting early relapse.
