Elongated linear vessels simulating branching vessels and diffuse structureless orange areas as prominent dermoscopic features of diffuse flat facial and extrafacial granuloma faciale: A case series.

Dermoscopy can be an important help for the diagnosis of skin cancers and inflammatory cutaneous diseases. The list of the dermoscopic features reported in granuloma faciale is wide and includes vascular and non-vascular features. We report here three cases of diffuse flat facial and extrafacial granuloma faciale that exhibited elongated linear vessels simulating branching vessels and diffuse structureless orange areas. The differential diagnosis between flat-type granuloma faciale, basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous sarcoidosis can be extremely difficult, making histology mandatory before any treatment.

Dermoscopy of papulopustular rosacea and comparison of dermoscopic features in patients with or without concomitant Demodex folliculorum.

BACKGROUND: The dermoscopic findings of papulopustular rosacea include tiny papules and pustules, follicular plugs and follicular dilatation. Demodex tails and Demodex follicular openings are dermoscopic indicators that are mainly found in primary demodicosis and, less frequently, in rosacea. AIM: To describe the dermoscopic features of papulopustular rosacea and to investigate the differential dermoscopic features between patients with and without concomitant Demodex infestation. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of patients with almost-clear, mild or moderate papulopustular rosacea. For each patient, dermoscopic images were taken and a standardized skin surface biopsy was performed. RESULTS: In this group of 60 patients, the most frequent dermoscopic findings were yellow dots, vascular polygons and follicular scales. Patients with moderate rosacea had more Demodex follicular openings compared with patients with mild rosacea (P = 0.02), while patients with mild rosacea had a higher frequency of follicular scales than did patients with almost-clear rosacea (P = 0.01). Patients with moderate rosacea had higher rates of Demodex follicular openings (P = 0.02), follicular scales (P < 0.001), follicular annular pigmentation (P = 0.001) and follicular pustules (P < 0.001) compared with patients with almost-clear rosacea. No significant dermoscopic differences were observed between patients with and without concomitant Demodex infestation. CONCLUSIONS: Papulopustular rosacea has specific dermoscopic findings. In our opinion, dermoscopy is not sufficient by itself for the diagnosis of Demodex proliferation in rosacea.

Analysis of facial redness by comparing VISIA® from Canfield and CSKIN® from Yanyun Technology.

BACKGROUND: Redness is the most common symptom among many facial dermatoses. With the rapid development of optical instruments, spectral imaging, and image processing technology, there appear varieties of skin color analysis methods and instruments. The aim of this study is to reveal the differences and correlations in measuring the facial redness between CSKIN® and VISIA® , as well as the relevance between the instrument parameters and clinical evaluation. MATERIALS & METHODS: Forty-three Chinese patients were enrolled. Images were taken and analyzed by VISIA® from Canfield and CSKIN® from Yanyun Technology, and the facial erythema was graded by the dermatologists. RESULTS: Feature counts within the red areas measured by VISIA® were found to have significantly positive correlations with red pixels and percent which were measured by CSKIN® on both sides of the face (r = .45 ~ .566, P < .01). The parameters analyzed by CSKIN® and VISIA® feature counts were correlated with visual scores graded by the dermatologists, VISIA® presented with a weak correlation (r = .213, P < .05), while CSKIN® had a moderate correlation with the visual scores (r = .472 ~ .492, P < .001). CONCLUSION: CSKIN® may be another alternative option when encountering with measurement and follow-up of facial erythema.

Diagnostic impact of reflectance confocal microscopy as a second-level examination for facial skin lesions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Benign and malignant facial skin lesions may be difficult to differentiate clinically and with dermoscopy. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential utility of in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) as a second-level examination for facial skin neoplasms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective and blinded evaluation of 160 consecutive facial lesions was carried out in two separate steps. Clinical and dermoscopic images were assessed first, followed by combined evaluation of clinical/dermoscopic and RCM images. Our study included 60 % malignant lesions, comprising 43 % melanomas, 9 % basal cell carcinomas, 5 % in situ squamous cell carcinomas and 3 % lymphomas. RESULTS: Ancillary RCM significantly improved diagnostic specificity for the detection of malignancy compared to clinical/dermoscopic evaluation alone (58 % vs 28 %). However, sensitivity was slightly lower for RCM-based image evaluation (93 % vs 95 %) due to misclassification of one in situ SCC and one lymphoma. In terms of melanoma diagnosis, RCM-based image evaluation was generally superior; sensitivity was only slightly increased (88 % vs 87 %), but melanoma specificity was significantly higher (84 % vs 58 %). CONCLUSION: RCM is a valuable diagnostic adjunct for facial skin lesions; unnecessary biopsies in this cosmetically sensitive area could be reduced by one third without missing a melanoma.

Tracking actinic keratosis of face and scalp treated with 0.015% ingenol mebutate to identify clinical and dermoscopic predictors of treatment response.

BACKGROUND: Ingenol mebutate (IngMeb) 0.015% gel is an approved field treatment option for non-hyperkeratotic non-hypertrophic actinic keratosis (AK) of face and scalp. Efficacy of IngMeb has been assessed only on a clinical ground, in the majority of studies. Dermoscopy is a pivotal tool for the diagnosis of AK, while its role in evaluating the response to non-surgical therapies for AK has not been fully defined. OBJECTIVES: Our study aims to determine whether some dermoscopic features of AK of the face and scalp areas may independently predict the response to IngMeb therapy. METHODS: Clinical and dermoscopic responses, 1 month after 0.015% IngMeb therapy, were retrospectively evaluated using a per-patient and per-lesion approach. Safety was evaluated through local skin reaction composite score calculation. Demographic, clinical and dermoscopic factors were then evaluated via univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess independent predictors of response. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients with 245 AKs were enrolled. Clinically, per-patient response evaluation identified 25 (45.4%) poor/partial and 30 (54.5%) complete responders, corresponding on a per-lesion approach to 66 (26.9%) and 179 (73.1%) AKs, respectively. Dermoscopy reclassified 14 patients in the per-patient and 48 AKs in the per-lesion analysis from complete to poor/partial responders. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that AKs dermoscopically characterized by red pseudonetwork and located on the face were independently associated with a complete dermoscopic response to 0.015% IngMeb therapy, while microerosions were negative predictors. CONCLUSION: Specific dermoscopic features of AK may predict the response to 0.015% IngMeb therapy, together with the location on the face.

Artificial Intelligence for the Objective Evaluation of Acne Investigator Global Assessment.

INTRODUCTION: The evaluation of Acne using ordinal scales reflects the clinical perception of severity but has shown low reproducibility both intra- and inter-rater. In this study, we investigated if Artificial Intelligence trained on images of Acne patients could perform acne grading with high accuracy and reliabilities superior to those of expert physicians. METHODS: 479 patients with acne grading ranging from clear to severe and sampled from three ethnic groups participated in this study. Multi-polarization images of facial skin of each patient were acquired from five different angles using the visible spectrum. An Artificial Intelligence was trained using the acquired images to output automatically a measure of Acne severity in the 0-4 numerical range of the Investigator Global Assessment (IGA). RESULTS: The Artificial Intelligence recognized the IGA of a patient with an accuracy of 0.854 and a correlation between manual and automatized evaluation of r=0.958 (P less than .001). DISCUSSION: This is the first work where an Artificial Intelligence was able to directly classify acne patients according to an IGA ordinal scale with high accuracy, no human intervention and no need to count lesions. J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(9):1006-1009.

Ultrasound findings in idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma: Case series and literature review.

Idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma is an inflammatory nodule commonly located on the cheeks and eyelids in young children. Despite its prolonged course, it tends toward spontaneous resolution, so invasive diagnostic procedures should be avoided. Cutaneous ultrasound is a noninvasive modality that has been found to improve the diagnostic accuracy of nodular skin lesions. We report five children with idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma in whom high-resolution ultrasound examination provided distinctive findings.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy as adjuvant therapy in necrotizing fasciitis of the face: case report.

Facial necrotizing fasciitis is a rare bacterial infectious disease. Rapid necrosis of the tissues and suppurative fasciitis is pathognomonic. It can be seen following odontogenic infection. Early aggressive debridements and wide-spectrum antibiotic therapy are currently accepted treatments. A 60-year-old man was admitted to the otolaryngology clinic for facial pain and swelling after odontogenic infection. Inflamed left maxilla and orbit were seen, and abscess contents spontaneously drained into the mouth. It was determined that infectious markers were increased in the blood. On MRI, a broad abscess with edema and gas formation was seen. Debridement of the necrotic tissue was performed immediately and wide-spectrum antibiotic therapy was started. Infection was stopped and wound was closed, with four weeks of antibiotic therapy, three sessions of debridement, and 30 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy. HBO2 therapy must not replace the combination of early aggressive debridements and wide-spectrum antibiotic therapy, but rather must be considered as an important adjuvant treatment.

Clinical and color Doppler ultrasound evaluation of polyacrylamide injection in HIV patients with severe facial lipoatrophy secondary to antiretroviral therapy.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Facial lipoatrophy in HIV patients, secondary to antiretroviral therapy (ART) with thymidine analogs, has been related to important psychosocial alterations and poor adherence to treatment. Polyacrylamide gel (PAAG) is a filler that has been used for treating facial lipoatrophy in HIV patients. The aim was to assess the clinical and sonographic anatomical changes after injection of PAAG in HIV patients with facial lipoatrophy secondary to ART. METHODS: HIV patients receiving ART and suffering from severe facial lipoatrophy were recruited and underwent clinical and color Doppler ultrasound evaluation prior to PAAG application (AQUAMID® ) and sonographically monitored at 18 months and clinically followed up for 36 months after the procedure. Adverse effects were recorded based on occurrence and complexity. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients were evaluated, 30 men (91%) and 3 women (9%) with an average age of 49.6 years (±8.4). Clinical improvement assessed by a dermatologist had an average score of 5.9 (±0.7) on a scale of 1-7. On color Doppler ultrasound there was a significant increase of the thickness of the subcutaneous tissue (SCT) in both nasofold lines when comparing before and after PAAG injection (P < 0.01) and no signs of inflammation (hypervascularity). User satisfaction was qualified as excellent or good in all cases. Only two patients experienced adverse effects (hematoma and puncture site infection), which was successfully managed without consequences. CONCLUSION: Treatment of facial lipoatrophy with PAAG seems to be effective in HIV patients and no signs of complications were observed in the monitoring at 36 months after injection. Color Doppler ultrasound can identify the filler deposits and the anatomical changes of the SCT non-invasively.

Primary isolated osteoma cutis of the face.

We report a healthy, 44-year-old woman presenting with an at least a 20-year history of hardened papules in the forehead region, extending to the scalp. The biopsy and histopathologic exam confirmed a diagnosis of osteoma cutis. We review the literature review and discuss the classification of the cutaneous ossification process presented, along with the results of the surgical treatment.

Nódulos subcutáneos faciales de 3 meses de evolución.

Siliconomas are subcutaneous nodules that usuallyappear as a consequence of the migration of freesilicon implanted in other locations. They are morefrequent in women with abnormal breast implants,such as poly implant prostheses (PIP), but they may alsoappear after illegal injection of free silicone. We reporta 57-year-old woman who attended our Dermatologyclinic complaining of relapsing facial panniculitis ofunknown origin. After a thorough work-up, thesenodules were determined to be the consequence ofdermal filler made with fluid silicone, which had beeninjected 20 years prior. High frequency skin ultrasoundof one of the nodules showed a hyperechoic image,also known as "snowstorm," which was located in thesubcutaneous tissue. The disposition of silicone in thisplane obscures the view of any sonographic structurein the underlying plane. Cutaneous sonographyhas become one of the most useful non-invasivetechniques in diagnosis of filler complications andother inflammatory diseases. Combined treatmentwith prednisone and allopurinol was successful, withno recurrence after 1 year of follow-up.

In vivo confocal microscopy efficacy assessment of daylight photodynamic therapy in actinic keratosis patients.

BACKGROUND: Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a noninvasive diagnostic technique with an acceptable sensitivity and specificity for actinic keratosis (AK). OBJECTIVES: We evaluated efficacy of daylight photodynamic therapy (DL-PDT) in patients with AK using a new RCM atypia scoring system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients with AK lesions (Grade I-II) were included in our study (2012-15). Baseline clinical, dermoscopy and RCM evaluations were followed by DL-PDT. In the first follow-up, clinical examination, dermoscopy and RCM imaging of the treated area were carried out. Atypia scoring and cell size measurements were used to compare before and after RCM images. RESULTS: From 40 lesions (20 patients with mean age of 75·5 years), complete resolution and partial response of the actinic damage was detected in 80% and 17·5% of lesions, respectively. No cellular atypia was seen in the follow-up RCM images of 57·5% of lesions (n = 23), while in 40% of lesions (n = 16) minimal changes to the honeycomb pattern of the epidermis were seen in the follow-up RCM images (atypia score 1). Only one lesion showed minimal or no clinical response, and a persistent moderate amount of atypia in RCM. Furthermore, atypia score and mean cell size decreased significantly in the follow-up DL-PDT RCM images (P < 0·001, P = 0·001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: RCM features of actinic damage at cellular level have been shown to correlate well with the results of a clinical assessment of AK lesions. This study confirms that in vivo RCM technology might be an additional technique to monitor the efficacy of DL-PDT for AK.

Differentiation of Jessner's Lymphocytic Infiltration of the Skin from Various Chronic Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Subtypes by Quantitative Computer-Aided Image Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The distinction between chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus and Jessner's lymphocytic infiltration of the skin is still not clear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the difference between chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus and Jessner's lymphocytic infiltration of the skin in an objective and quantitative manner. METHODS: Clinical photographs were examined for erythema quantification using two erythema parameters (a* and erythema dose), and histological images were assessed by computer-aided image analysis. RESULTS: The difference between normal and erythematous skin was more prominent using erythema dose than a*, but no significant differences among the three diseases were observed. The correlation between inflammatory dermal cell infiltration and epidermal thickness, as well as that between erythema parameters and histopathological features, was not significant. CONCLUSION: This is the first attempt to use computer-aided image analysis for the differentiation of similar skin diseases. However, the differentiation between these diseases using quantitative computer-aided image analysis was still not possible.

Idiopathic Facial Aseptic Granuloma: Review of an Evolving Clinical Entity.

Idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma (IFAG), originally termed pyodermite froide du visage, describes a generally asymptomatic facial nodule presenting in childhood with clinical resemblance to pyoderma or cystic, granulomatous, or vascular lesions. Clinical understanding is constantly evolving, with recent observations indicating that IFAG may represent a subtype of childhood rosacea. We present a case of IFAG associated with eyelid chalazions in a 19-month-old boy. Although his clinical course paralleled previously reported IFAG cases, we observed a unique ultrasound variation during initial diagnostic examination. Further delineation of clinical, imaging, and histologic properties of IFAG may reveal insights into etiologic associations and ideal management.

Sonography of acne vulgaris.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the sonographic morphology of the clinical and subclinical pathology of facial acne vulgaris. METHODS: We studied patients with facial acne vulgaris diagnosed by certified dermatologists, and using a standardized protocol for sonographic examinations, we sequentially described the sonographic pathomorphologic characteristics. Lesions of particular interest to the referring clinician were also analyzed separately. Additionally, acne involvement was staged clinically and sonographically (SOS-Acne) using morphologic definitions of the relevant lesions and predefined scoring systems for gradation of the severity of acne lesions. RESULTS: A total of 245 acne lesions in 20 consecutive patients were studied. Sonographic abnormalities consisted of pseudocysts, folliculitis, fistulas, and calcinosis. Most conditions were subclinical and mostly due to lesion extensions deep into the dermis and hypodermis (52% of pseudocysts and 68% of fistulas). The statistical concordance between acne severity scores assigned by two separate clinicians was strong (κ = 0.8020), but the corresponding sonographic scores generally showed more severe and clinically occult involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Facial acne vulgaris often involves deeper tissues, beyond the reach of the spatially restricted clinical examination; these subclinical conditions can be detected and defined with sonography. Additionally, acne vulgaris is amenable to sonographic scoring.

Idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma in a child: a possible expression of childhood rosacea.

Idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma is a chronic, benign, and painless facial nodule occurring exclusively in childhood. Its pathogenesis is unclear, although some interesting hypotheses have been advanced. On the basis of the relationship existing between this disease and recurrent chalazions and conjunctivitis, we hypothesize that it could be considered to be a possible marker of childhood rosacea.