Outbreak of Mycobacterium haemophilum infections after permanent makeup of the eyebrows.

We report a Mycobacterium haemophilum outbreak after permanent make-up of the eyebrows performed by the same freelance artist. Twelve patients presented an eyebrow lesion and cervical lymphadenitis. All were treated with antibiotics. Surgery was required in 10 cases. M. haemophilum DNA was identified in the make-up ink.

[Recurrent anal abscess and cecal perforation as a first presentation of Behçet's disease]. / Abcès para-anaux récidivants et perforation caecale révélant une maladie de Behçet.

Intestinal involvement during Behçet's disease (entero-Behçet) is rare in Europe (<1%). We report the case of a 33-year-old Chad woman with Behçet's disease revealed by recurrent anal abscess and cecal perforation. We discuss the diagnosis of this atypical presentation and the different therapeutic strategies in severe attacks of Behçet's disease.

Carotid artery rupture and cervicofacial actinomycosis.

Cervicofacial actinomycosis is an uncommon, progressive infection caused by bacilli of the Actinomyces genus. Actinomyces are common commensal saprophytes in the oral cavity which may have medical importance as facultative pathogens. Subsequent to local injuries to the oral mucosa, they may penetrate the deep tissues and be responsible for suppurative or granulomatous infections. We herein report a case of a 65-year-old man who underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy for a tonsillar carcinoma. An ulcerous lesion in the base of the tongue developed and spread to the carotid artery wall. The man died of a massive hemorrhage due to left carotid artery rupture. Postmortem computed tomography angiography performed prior to autopsy allowed the precise localization of the source of bleeding to be detected. Postmortem biochemical investigations confirmed the presence of inflammation associated with local bacterial infection. Histological investigations revealed the rupture of the left carotid artery surrounded by numerous colonies of Actinomyces. Acute and chronic inflammation with tissue necrosis as well as post-actinic, fibrotic changes were also found in the tissues surrounding the ruptured artery wall.

Chronic subjective dizziness.

CONCLUSION: Chronic subjective dizziness (CSD) is frequent and affects twice as many women as men. Anxiety is a strong predisposing factor. The pathophysiologic concept of this disorder assumes that balance function and emotion share common neurologic pathways, which might explain that the balance disorder can provoke fear and vice versa, giving rise to a problem in perception of space and motion. In anxious patients this can turn into a space and motion phobia, with avoidance behaviour. OBJECTIVE: CSD is a diagnosis based on the hypothesis of an interaction between the vestibular system and the psychiatric sphere. Patients complain of chronic imbalance, worsened by visual motion stimulation, and frequently suffer from anxiety. Vestibular examination reveals no anomalies. We evaluated the incidence and characteristics of CSD in patients referred to our neuro-otology centre (tertiary hospital outpatient clinic). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 1552 consecutive patients presenting with vertigo. CSD was diagnosed in 164 patients (female:male=111:53). RESULTS: CSD represents 10.6% of the dizzy patients in our clinic. Psychiatric disorder, mainly anxiety, was found in 79.3% of the cases. Other frequently associated factors were fear of heights and former vestibular lesion (healed). In all, 79.0% of the patients with CSD had poor balance performance on dynamic posturography testing.

Myxoid fibroblastic tumor of the maxillary sinus in a 21-month-old child: An unusual diagnosis.

Myxoid tumors of the soft tissue are a heterogeneous group of lesions with significant differences in behavior, from being totally harmless to malignant tumors with metastasizing potential. We describe the unusual case of a 21-month-old boy who developed a paranasal low-grade myxoid neoplasm with recurrent potential. The histological findings showed a proliferation of spindle cells within a vascular and myxoid background. The immunohistochemistry had the features of myofibroblasts and fibroblasts with strong Vimentin and light Smooth Muscle Actin reactivity. Close collaboration between clinician and pathologist is necessary to deal with these unusual lesions to predict their local aggressiveness and long-term behavior. Most of these cellular myxomas have been described in adults, involving primarily the limbs, but this case shows that any localization is possible.