Disseminated form of syringoma (eruptive syringoma) sparing the face-a rare presentation causing diagnostic challenge.

Syringomas are benign neoplasms of the skin commonly appearing around the eye lids. Though common in middle-aged women, it affects all age groups. The lesions are asymptomatic, firm, discrete, translucent or skin colored flat-topped papules. Once papules of syringoma come into being, which usually is after puberty, they remain as they are for a lifetime. Disseminated lesions appearing on the abdomen, scalp and genital area has been described earlier. We report the disseminated form (eruptive) syringoma involving the trunk, the neck, and the upper extremities while sparing the face. Our case created a diagnostic difficulty because of the unusual distribution of lesions. The case is presented and discussed with review of literature.

Community diagnosis of common skin diseases in the Zay community of the Zeway Islands, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Skin diseases are common public health problems throughout the world. Studies on skin problems are rare in Ethiopia. Easy and cheap methods of identifying skin conditions in the community are poorly developed in the country. OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess whether the newly developed Dermatological Screening Questionnaire (DSQ) can be used to effectively screen for common skin diseases and (2) to estimate the prevalence of skin diseases in a rural community. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the rural community residing on the islands of Lake Zeway. A locally prepared nine-item questionnaire (the DSQ) was used by lay-interviewers to screen for common skin diseases. Any respondent giving one or more positive responses, and a further 104 people who had replied negatively, underwent confirmatory diagnosis by specialist dermatologists. RESULTS: A total of 4697 people were included in the survey. Of these, 992 (20.0%) respondents screened positive on the DSQ. Out of 62.5% (N = 620) examined by dermatologists, 98.6% (n = 611) were found to have one or more skin conditions. Amongst screen negatives, 10.6% had skin diseases. Sensitivity and specificity of the DSQ was found to be 98% and 91%, respectively. The weighted prevalence of clinically-confirmed skin disease was 22.5%. Scabies was the most common of all skin conditions, followed by fungal infections. CONCLUSION: Our survey revealed that easily preventable and treatable skin diseases are common in this rural community. Nearly all those who gave a positive response to the DSQ had one or more skin disease confirmed on clinical examination. This finding indicates that the DSQ is a useful instrument for identification of common skin diseases in the community.