Frequency of different types of facial melanoses referring to the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital in 2019, and assessment of their effect on health-related quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Abnormalities of facial pigmentation, or facial melanoses, are a common presenting complaint in Nepal and are the result of a diverse range of conditions. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency, underlying cause and impact on quality of life of facial pigmentary disorders among patients visiting the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital (NMCTH) over the course of one year. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, NMCTH. We recruited patients with facial melanoses above 16 years of age who presented to the outpatient department. Clinical and demographic data were collected and all the enrolled participants completed the validated Nepali version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). RESULTS: Between January 5, 2019 to January 4, 2020, a total of 485 patients were recruited in the study. The most common diagnoses were melasma (166 patients) and post acne hyperpigmentation (71 patients). Quality of life impairment was highest in patients having melasma with steroid induced rosacea-like dermatitis (DLQI = 13.54 ± 1.30), while it was lowest in participants with ephelides (2.45 ± 1.23). CONCLUSION: Facial melanoses are a common presenting complaint and lead to substantial impacts on quality of life. Accurate diagnosis and management can prevent or treat many facial melanoses, including those that lead to substantial loss of quality of life, such as melasma with steroid induced rosacea-like dermatitis. Health care systems in low and middle-income countries should dedicate resources to the identification, prevention and treatment of these conditions to improve quality of life.

High Rates of Enteric Fever Diagnosis and Lower Burden of Culture-Confirmed Disease in Peri-urban and Rural Nepal.

Background: In South Asia, data on enteric fever are sparse outside of urban areas. We characterized enteric fever diagnosis patterns and the burden of culture-confirmed cases in peri-urban and rural Nepal. Methods: We used national reports to estimate enteric fever diagnosis rates over 20 years (1994-2014) and conducted a prospective study of patients presenting with a >72-hour history of fever to 4 peri-urban and rural healthcare facilities (during August 2013-June 2016). We compared clinical characteristics of patients with culture-confirmed Salmonella Typhi or Paratyphi infection to those of patients without enteric fever. We used generalized additive models with logistic link functions to evaluate associations of age and population density with culture positivity. Results: National rates of enteric fever diagnosis were high, reaching 18.8 cases per 1000 during 2009-2014. We enrolled 4309 participants with acute febrile illness. Among those with a provisional clinical diagnosis, 55% (1334 of 2412) received a diagnosis of enteric fever; however, only 4.1% of these had culture-confirmed typhoidal Salmonella infection. Culture positivity was highest among young adults and was strongly associated with higher population density (P < .001). Conclusions: Enteric fever diagnosis rates were very high throughout Nepal, but in rural settings, few patients had culture-confirmed disease. Expanded surveillance may inform local enteric fever treatment and prevention strategies.

Evaluation of Dermoscopic Features in Facial Melanosis with Wood Lamp Examination.

INTRODUCTION: Facial melanosis is one of the most common reasons for which patients refer to a dermatologist in Nepal. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the dermoscopic findings of common facial melanoses and correlate them with findings from Wood lamp examination. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital. We recruited a total of 204 patients from July 2020 to March 2021. The most common diagnosis was melasma (37 patients) followed by melasma with steroid-induced rosacea-like dermatitis (29 patients). After collecting clinical and demographic data, patients underwent Wood lamp and dermoscopic examination. RESULTS: Dermoscopy of ashy dermatosis and nevus of Ota revealed blue-gray pigmentation forming a curvilinear pattern; café-au-lait macule and nevus spilus revealed a light brown reticular pattern with follicular sparing; and a reticular and hem-like pattern of pigmentation was observed in clofazimine-induced pigmentation, peribuccal pigmentation of Brocq and periorbital pigmentation. The degree of agreement between Wood lamp and dermoscopic findings was found to be statistically significant in melasma (κ = 0.701, P = 0.0001) and melasma with steroid-induced rosacea-like dermatitis (κ = 0.628, P = 0.0001). While the agreement between the two techniques was 100% for epidermal types, it decreased to 44.8% for dermal melasma and 61.5% for dermal melasma with steroid-induced rosacea-like dermatitis. CONCLUSIONS: Dermoscopy is useful in assessing facial melanoses. It may be supplemented with Wood lamp examination to increase diagnostic accuracy.

Median raphe cyst of the penis: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: A defect in embryological development or closure of median raphe may lead to formation of cyst(s) anywhere in the midline from glans to anus. These cysts are referred to as median raphe cysts, an uncommonly encountered clinical condition. The cyst is generally solitary, with the penile shaft being the most common location, with average size of around 1 cm. The diagnosis is mostly clinical and confirmed histologically. We report a case of a patient with a rare histological variant of median raphe cyst and provide a focused review on presentation, histopathology, and management. CASE PRESENTATION: A 29-year-old unmarried Nepali man presented to our clinic with an asymptomatic, solitary, soft, translucent, nontender cystic lesion of about 1-cm diameter at the ventral aspect of glans penis, close to the meatus, that had been noticed at the age of 3 and was nonprogressive for the past 15 years. Ultrasonography demonstrated an isoechoic cystic lesion at the tip of the penis, separated from the urethra, and lying entirely within the mucosa without any evidence of solid component, septation, or vascularity. On the basis of clinical and ultrasonographic findings, a diagnosis of median raphe cyst of the penis was made. The cyst was excised with the patient under local anesthesia, and there was no evidence of recurrence in 2 years of follow-up. The histopathological examination with Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed the cyst wall was lined partly by ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium and partly by columnar epithelium with apical mucin. CONCLUSIONS: Median raphe cyst is an uncommon, mostly asymptomatic condition in young patients. The cyst may occur anywhere along the midline from glans to anus. The diagnosis is clinical with histological confirmation. Excision is the treatment of choice with minimal chance of recurrence.