An unusual case of scalp ulceration.

ABSTRACT: Granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a form of necrotizing vasculitis can present as a limited variant with the involvement of a single organ system. The superficial protracted form can present as face and scalp ulceration for chronic periods of time. Diagnosis can be established histopathologically by examining the involvement of blood vessels. Here, we present a case of scalp ulceration that was diagnosed as a limited variant and started on steroids and immunosuppressants with excellent response.

Atypical Hansen's Disease Mimicking Xanthogranuloma: Role of Cytology.

Fine needle aspiration cytology is a simple, safe, and effective technique that can be used in the diagnosis of cutaneous diseases. Here, we present a case of Hansen's disease with an erythematous dermal nodule mimicking xanthogranuloma clinically. In our scenario, since leprosy is considered eliminated in India, the presentation of patients with classical signs and symptoms is becoming rare. Atypical manifestation of leprosy is increasing day by day, so it is necessary to have a high suspicion of leprosy in every case.

A Psittacine bite and subcutaneous basidiobolomycosis: A case with a therapeutic challenge.

Basidiobolus ranarum is a saprophyte that can be found in soil, rotting vegetables, and frogs' digestive tracts. Clinically, basidiobolomycosis presents as a persistent infection of subcutaneous tissue affecting the trunk and extremities in an immunocompetent host. We describe a case of subcutaneous basidiobolomycosis in a 56-year-old immunocompetent woman farmer by occupation residing at remote part of central India. This study highlights the traumatic implantation and zoonotic potential of fungal species. Clinical suspicion of fungal etiology and timely mycology laboratory diagnostic support is key to address such cases. This case is documented to emphasize the problems of compliance to treatment specially in remote and poor patients challenging the treatment with complete cure. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dermatoses misdiagnosed as deliberate injuries.

Examination of non-accidental injuries on a body should be done with caution, as often skin diseases can mimic deliberate injuries. Patients with active dermatoses or their residual/post-inflammatory spots seen during autopsy can generate false alarms or suspicion of burns, child abuse or battering, sexual assault or other medicolegal cases. The inability to distinguish between a mechanical injury and skin disease can cause unnecessary anxiety and can complicate medicolegal investigations. Many times, an elaborate history to find out the aetiology of the lesion is either unavailable or not reliable as in the cases of young children, insane or mentally subnormal patients or in medicolegal deaths. The greatest chance of misinterpretation may be in cases of extensive denudation of the skin seen in severe drug reactions like toxic epidermal necrolysis, which can be mistaken for scald burns. Other important cases include bruises diagnosed on seeing discoloured spots on the skin or genital lesions raising the suspicion of sexual abuse in children. This diagnostic dilemma can also lead to undue forensic investigations, imprecise expert opinions and distress to patients or their family members. This review aims to generate awareness about proper interpretation of findings with an open mind, the clues to differentiate between true and false injuries and the management thereof.

Update in the Uses of Chalazion Clamp in Dermatological Procedure Revisited.

Chalazion clamp has a distal tip with a flat oval plate; other side has a ring-like structure and forceps-like handle. Handle has a thumbscrew, which can be tightened and released so as to achieve the required pressure. Available in various sizes. Used mainly in ophthalmological procedures primarily. Used in dermatology by modifying its technique and creating an adequate hemostasis in various diagnostic and interventional procedures. In the previous article chalazion clamp was used for preparing SSS for ear lobule, so this article revisited the uses of chalazion clamp in dermatology and extended use in the preparation of adequate blanching while preparing SSS from the peripheral tissue site.

Cutaneous mastocytosis-Conglomerate of diagnostic tools: A report of four cases.

Mast cells are naturally distributed in the dermis, respiratory, gastrointestinal/genitourinary mucosa, adjacent to blood vessels, lymphatics, and peripheral nerves. The most common site for the abnormal accumulation of mast cells is the skin, which is known as cutaneous mastocytosis. We report four cases of cutaneous mastocytosis with erythematous maculopapular to bullous lesion along with a positive Darier sign. Skin biopsy, with special stains like Toluidine blue, Giemsa stain, immunohistochemistry (IHC) for CD117, and serum tryptase level correlations were done. Mastocytosis can affect only the cutaneous sites or involve multiple organs. It is most common in infancy with varied clinical presentations, thus requiring a high index of suspicion with histopathological correlation. Although the prognosis is good, there remains a risk of sudden mast cell degranulation due to triggering agents and subsequent collapse.

Unilateral lymphoedema of lower limb: an unusual presenting feature of hidden tuberculosis verrucosa cutis of foot.

A 42-year-old Indian farmer presented with gradually progressive swelling of the right lower limb for the last 20 years. There were few verrucous plaques over the right foot for the same duration. Those plaques were initially ignored and mistaken as lymphoedema-induced secondary changes by primary care physicians. Histopathology of the skin lesion showed pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia with upper dermal granulomatous infiltrate and a diagnosis of tuberculosis verrucosa cutis was suspected. Subsequently, the lesions as well as lymphoedema improved significantly with antitubercular therapy.

Association of Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Treatment Outcome in Acne Vulgaris Patients: A Pilot Study.

Purpose Cutibacterium acnes ( C. acnes ) is an emerging pathogen that is highly resistant to antibiotics and is capable of causing persistent infections that are difficult to treat. Methods & Materials Acne vulgaris patients visiting dermatology OPD of our tertiary care hospital during the study period of 2 months were recruited. Skin swabs were collected, and the sample was processed on 5% sheep-blood agar for anaerobic culture by the GasPak method. Isolates were identified by the standard biochemical test. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for clinically relevant antibiotics by the E-strip method. The clinical response was evaluated after 1-month follow-up to the prescribed antibiotics. Results Minocycline, doxycycline, ceftriaxone, and tetracycline were the most effective antibiotics. Nonsusceptibility to clindamycin and erythromycin were observed in 11.9% and 31% isolates, respectively, with 9.5% isolates being nonsusceptible to both. For none of the antibiotics we found significant difference in the proportion of susceptible and nonsusceptible isolates between mild, moderate, and severe grades of acne vulgaris. For none of the antibiotic regimens, significant difference was observed between nonresponders and responders. Twenty-seven patients received clindamycin and among them 16 of 19 responders and 6 of 8 nonresponders yielded growth of clindamycin-susceptible isolates ( p = 0.57). Conclusion We observed significant prevalence of resistant strains of C. acnes among patients with acne vulgaris. No association was observed between in vitro susceptibility results and treatment outcome.

A Rare Case of Foveal Hypoplasia With Dyschromatosis Universalis.

Foveal hypopalsia (FH) is typically seen in association with diseases like albinism and aniridia, and familial FH (FFH) is very rare. The authors present a case of unique association of FH with dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria (DUH). Family members of this patient had history of nystagmus and dermal pigmentary anomalies, suggesting that this may represent FFH with DUH in X-linked pattern. The authors also discuss the role of pigment anomalies in manifesting as this combination. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2019;50:192-195.].

A Pilot Study for the Evaluation of PCR as a Diagnostic Tool in Patients with Suspected Dermatophytoses.

CONTEXT: The conventional diagnostic tools for dermatophytoses suffer from several limitations including low sensitivity, specificity, and long turn-around-time. AIMS: The present study was, therefore, performed to evaluate the performance of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for the diagnosis of this condition. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study was conducted in the Dermatology outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital in central India over a period of 3 months from July to September 2015. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty participants, including 25 cases and 15 controls, were recruited in this observational study. Direct microscopy and fungal culture were performed from skin scrapings and nail clippings collected from the participants. PCR was also performed to amplify the chitin synthase 1 and internal transcribed spacer 2 genes from DNA samples extracted from the same clinical materials, using the method reported by Brillowska-Dabrowska et al. The diagnostic performance of fungal culture and PCR was compared using OpenEpi software. RESULTS: We observed a significant male predominance among patients with dermatophytoses. The sensitivity of fungal culture and dermatophyte PCR to diagnose dermatophytoses was 24% and 48%, respectively, whereas the specificity of the two assays was 100% and 93.3%, respectively. The likelihood ratio of a positive PCR assay was 7.2 and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.5. PCR assay also delivered a significant shortening of the time-to-diagnosis, with the mean turn-around-time being 8 hours and 14 days for PCR and culture, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study, thus, highlights the potential merits of the dermatophyte PCR assay in achieving a rapid diagnosis of dermatophytoses and underscores its utility as a complementary test to improve the sensitivity of the conventional diagnostic tools for this condition, as well as to reliably differentiate this condition from other similar skin conditions.

Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma with macrophage activation syndrome treated by cyclosporine and prednisolone.

Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL; α/ß T-cell subtype) is a distinct variantof cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, which presents as inflammatory subcutaneous nodules. A 17-year-old male presented with recurrent fever with concomitant facial swelling, pedal edema, hepatosplenomegaly, and mildly tender subcutaneous plaques in generalized distribution along with patches of scarring alopecia on scalp. There were features of macrophage activation syndrome in the form of hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow, pancytopenia, high serum lactate dehydrogenase levels, low fibrinogen clotting activity, prolonged activated prothrombine time (aPTT), increased serum ferritin, hypoalbuminemia, and hypertriglyceridemia. Histopathology showed lobular panniculitis-like infiltration by atypical lymphocytes rimming the adipocytes. Immunohistochemistry revealed positive CD3 and CD8 markers, whereas CD4, CD56, and CD20 were negative, consistent with the diagnosis of α/ß type of SPTCL. Treatment with oral prednisolone (1mg/kg/day) and cyclosporine (2mg/kg/day; 100 mg) led to rapid subsidence of fever, plaques, and abnormal hematological parameters within a few weeks.

Onychomycosis due to Cunninghamella bertholletiae in an Immunocompetent Male from Central India.

Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of nails seen frequently in immune competent and immune compromised patients due to dermatophytes, Candida spp., Fusarium spp., Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, Penicillium spp., and Aspergillus spp. We report a case of onychomycosis in a young immunocompetent male who presented onycholysis of a solitary nail without inflammation. The etiological agent was diagnosed to be Cunninghamella bertholletiae, a fungus pertaining to the order Mucorales (subdivision Mucoromycotina) and known for some of the invasive lesions among immunocompromised patients. This case demonstrates the association of onychomycosis with Cunninghamella bertholletiae in an immune competent individual, not reported so far.

Hidradenocarcinoma: A Rare Sweat Gland Neoplasm Presenting as Small Turban Tumor of the Scalp.

Hidradenocarcinomas are very rare malignant sweat gland tumors that possess an infiltrative and/or low metastatic potential. Here we describe an interesting case of hidradenoma on the fronto-parietal region of the scalp of an elderly female, part of which had developed carcinomatous changes, infiltrating up to the pericranium. She developed intense itching, pain, spontaneous ulceration and rapid increase in the size of the tumor correlating with the expression of malignant behavior of the neoplasm. An initial incision biopsy suggested features of benign poroid hidradenoma, while the histology from the excised tumor exhibited a fairly well circumscribed epithelial neoplasm in dermis consisting of interconnected nodules as well as differentiated ducts, the neoplastic cells showing mild pleomorphism of nuclei, mitotic figures and abundant pale cytoplasm. Clefts, sclerotic stroma and foci of necrosis en mass were also seen. The final diagnosis was a well differentiated and slow growing hidradenocarcinoma. The tumor recurred locally despite total excision.

Subcutaneous entomophthoromycoses.

Subcutaneous entomophthoromycoses is a zygomycosis caused by Basidiobolus ranarum that is endemic in southern India. We report the case of a 63-year-old male from central India who presented with a nontender subcutaneous hyperpigmented plaque on his leg with mild discharge that yielded Basidiobolus ranarum.