Results of the patch tests with European baseline series in children: Five years of experience from a single center in Turkey and a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is increasingly prevalent. Patch testing is the gold-standard diagnostic method. AIMS: Our study aimed to identify common contact-sensitizing allergens in Turkish children. PATIENTS/METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the patch test results and characteristics of 191 pediatric patients [114 (59.7%) females, 77 (40.3%) males], who received the diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis between 2015 and 2019. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 12.2 years (range 4-18 years). Thirty-six (18.8%) of the patients in the study group had positive patch test outcomes with 56 positive allergens. Girls had a significantly higher rate of total positive patch test results than boys (75%/25%; p = 0.003, p < 0.05). The most frequent four allergens were nickel sulfate (n = 20, 10.4%), cobalt chloride (n = 6, 3.14%), p-phenylenediamine (n = 5, 2.61%), Methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (n = 5, 2.61%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we discovered that in addition to the frequently encountered metal allergens such as nickel and cobalt, p-phenylenediamine and Methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone sensitivities were frequent in the Turkish population. p-phenylenediamine sensitization can cause serious systemic dermatitis during the lifetime of children. We suggest that in Turkey personal care and hygiene products containing Methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone should be legally regulated. Since childhood contact dermatitis may have an impact on the quality of life by influencing family and social life, suspected allergens should be detected as early as possible.

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Patients with Acne Vulgaris and Factors Perceived to Trigger the Disease: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study with 1571 Patients.

Background: Acne vulgaris (AV) is among the common skin diseases for which patients refer to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Aims and Objectives: To investigate the approaches to CAM methods and factors believed to increase the disease in 1,571 AV patients. Materials and Methods: The sociodemographic characteristics of the patients and disease severity according to the Food and Drug Administration criteria were recorded. The Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) was used to assess the impact of acne on the patient's life and the history of CAM use was noted. The patients also listed the factors that they thought worsened their disease and reported their gluten-free diet experiences. Results: Of all the patients, 74.41% had a history of using CAM methods. CAM use was significantly higher in women, patients with severe AV, those with a higher CADI score and non-smokers. As a CAM method, 66.37% of the patients reported having used lemon juice. The respondents most frequently applied CAM methods before consulting a physician (43.94%), for a duration of 0-2 weeks (38.97%). They learned about CAM methods on the internet (56.24%) and considered CAM methods to be natural (41.86%). The patients thought that food (78.55%) and stress (17.06%) worsened their disease. They considered that the most common type of food that exacerbated their symptoms was junk food (63.84%) and a gluten-free diet did not provide any benefit in relieving AV (50%). Conclusion: Physicians need to ask patients about their CAM use in order to be able to guide them appropriately concerning treatments and applications with a high level of evidence.

Early diagnosis of subungual squamous cell carcinoma of the hallux.

Primary subungual squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the toe is rare in the literature and frequently late or misdiagnosed. Lack of awareness among physicians of the specific clinical findings, the indolent course of the disease, and the high prevalence of benign conditions of the nail unit may account for delays in diagnosis. In addition to difficulties in identifying the true incidence of this tumor, a standardized therapeutic approach does not currently exist. We present a case of subungual SCC of the first toe without bone invasion. The tumor was diagnosed early, treated with conservative surgical excision, and showed no recurrence or metastasis after 2 years of follow-up.