Update on lasers in pediatric dermatology: how primary care providers can help patients and families navigate appropriate treatment options and timelines.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The use of lasers in pediatric dermatology is well established, but recent literature has expanded the evidence for specific timelines of treatment. Additionally, new devices and combinations with medical therapy have improved outcomes and treatment options for various conditions. RECENT FINDINGS: Pulsed dye laser remains the first-line laser for vascular lesions. Recent guidelines support early initiation of laser treatment in port-wine birthmarks to optimize outcomes. For hemangiomas, laser treatment can offer a meaningful addition to oral propranolol therapy. Lasers with shorter wavelengths offer improved outcomes with decreased downtime for pigmented lesions. General anesthesia in the pediatric population continues to be a controversial topic, and the decision to perform laser under general versus topical anesthesia requires discussion with family of risks and benefits. SUMMARY: Primary care providers can benefit their patients by prompt referral to dermatology for discussion of laser treatment. Port-wine birthmarks require referral in the first weeks of life so that laser treatment can be initiated if appropriate. Although many dermatologic conditions cannot be completely cleared or cured with laser, treatment can offer meaningful outcomes and benefit for patients and families.

Non-dermatomal varicella-zoster skin infection: disseminated cutaneous herpes zoster without dermatome in an immunosuppressed woman.

Disseminated herpes zoster is defined as the presence of more than 20 lesions outside the dermatome. This unusual presentation is more common in immunosuppressed patients. Complications such as hepatitis, encephalitis, and pneumonitis are more likely in individuals with disseminated varicella zoster virus infection.A 63-year-old woman being treated for breast cancer developed multiple pustules and vesicles days after starting doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy. Ten individual lesions appeared on her chest, abdomen, back, and leg. Non-dermatomal disseminated herpes zoster was suspected. She was treated with oral antiviral therapy, as well as with oral and topical antibiotics. Varicella zoster virus infection was confirmed by direct fluorescent antibody staining. After one month, her skin lesions had resolved and she resumed chemotherapy.In a setting of immunosuppression, the rare presentation of disseminated herpes zoster without dermatome should be considered. Appropriate antiviral therapy should be administered while waiting for confirmation of the diagnosis, so as to reduce the risk of visceral dissemination of the varicella zoster virus infection.

Concomitance of Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Porokeratoses.

Objective: No known studies have attempted to describe the pathophysiological relationship between patients who develop both porokeratosis and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). The purpose of this report is to present possible immunological mechanisms that predispose patients to developing both porokeratosis and HS. Methods: In this case series, patients were identified during routine clinical encounters and data was extracted from the electronic medical record from October 2010 until April 2021. This study is a single center case series including patients from the department of dermatology at the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Patients were selected via digital chart review if they had simultaneous diagnoses of disseminated porokeratosis and HS. Two eligible patients were identified as actively receiving care. One patient is a Black female and the other a White male. No primary study outcomes were planned. This investigation utilized chart review to identify disease time course, which was subsequently used to elucidate study outcomes. Results: Patient A is a 54-year-old Black female and Patient B is a 65-year-old White male. Both patients developed porokeratosis after multiple years of living with HS. Immunosuppression with adalimumab, corticosteroids, or other medications did not clearly precede porokeratosis development in either patient. Limitations: Limitations include that this study was conducted at a single center and prevalence of patients with concomitance of both conditions is low. Conclusion: In patients who demonstrate simultaneous HS and porokeratosis, activation of the innate immune system and associated IL-1 production may lead to autoinflammation and a phenotype of hyperkeratinization. Mutations in genes such as mevalonate kinase may predispose subjects to the development of porokeratoses and HS.

Emotional healing with unconventional breast tattoos: The role of temporary tattoos in the recovery process after breast carcinoma and mastectomy.

The healing process after breast cancer treatment is predominantly focused toward the physical changes to the body that a patient has experienced. Breast reconstructions are considered standard of care after mastectomy, and the nipple and areolar complex is often reconstructed as well, using a combination of skin graft and tattoo. A patient who decided to forego nipple reconstruction and areolar tattooing and instead chooses to apply decorative temporary tattoos to her breast reconstruction is described. Compared with permanent tattoos, these unconventional tattoos allow the patient to change the design to fit her mood. Unconventional tattoos are an alternative and creative approach to the healing process, in which artistic and individual expression allows the patient to embrace the physical change she has undergone as a breast cancer survivor.

Afatinib-Associated Cutaneous Toxicity: A Correlation of Severe Skin Reaction with Dramatic Tumor Response in a Woman with Exon 19 Deletion Positive Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors are biological factors used in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) that are positive for EGFR mutations. Afatinib is one such drug that has been approved for use in this capacity. Cutaneous toxicity is the second most commonly reported adverse event with the use of afatinib. A 39-year-old woman with inoperative right lung adenocarcinoma was initially treated with afatinib. She not only developed a severe papulopustular eruption but also had a dramatic reduction of her tumor. Her cutaneous symptoms and lesions were effectively treated with oral and topical corticosteroids, oral antibiotics, and oral antihistamines. After one month of afatinib treatment, her tumor was resected, and there was no evidence of metastases. Afatinib-induced cutaneous toxicity has a positive correlation with tumor response to anti-neoplastic therapy. Supplemental systemic and topical treatments can be initiated to palliate adverse skin events in order to enable adequate duration of treatment with afatinib.