Combined Use of Phenotypic Screening and of a Novel Commercial Assay (REALQUALITY Carba-Screen) for the Rapid Molecular Detection of Carbapenemases: A Single-Center Experience.

Carbapenem resistance is a serious public health threat, causing numerous deaths annually primarily due to healthcare-associated infections. To face this menace, surveillance programs in high-risk patients are becoming a widespread practice. Here we report the performance of the combined use of a recently approved commercial multiplex real-time PCR assay (REALQUALITY Carba-Screen kit) with conventional phenotypic screening. In this three-month study, 479 rectal swabs from 309 patients across high-risk units were evaluated by combining the two approaches. Although the molecular assay showed a higher positivity rate than phenotypic screening (7.1% vs. 5%), it should be noted that the molecular method alone would have missed eight carbapenem-resistant isolates, while using only phenotypic screening would not have detected sixteen isolates. This demonstrates the complementary strengths of each method. Our study confirms the need for a combined approach to maximize the possible clinical impact of this kind of screening, ensuring a more comprehensive detection of resistant strains.

Efficacy of Ingenol Mebutate in the Treatment of Actinic Keratoses: A Pre- and Posttreatment Dermoscopic Comparative Analysis.

Actinic keratosis (AK) is a common skin lesion in adults which usually occurs on chronically photoexposed areas and considered as a precancerous lesion or a superficial squamous-cell carcinoma. Many classifications have been proposed and its diagnosis is generally clinical but, sometimes, its wide variety of presentations can make diagnosis difficult, even among expert observers. The malignant potential of AKs imposes an early diagnosis and treatment in order to reduce morbidity and mortality, and, for the characterization of photodamaged skin, noninvasive diagnostic techniques, such as dermoscopy, have proved to be useful, while multiple therapeutic strategies, lesion-directed versus field-directed therapies, are available for the treatment of AKs. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of ingenol mebutate for the treatment of AKs, with a particular focus on patients' compliance, correlating it to clinical and dermoscopic grading, pre- and posttreatment, of these lesions. Fifty-two enrolled patients with AKs received treatment with ingenol mebutate gel (0.015% for face and scalp; 0.05% for trunk and extremities) and multiple dermatological evaluations. End points of the study were complete and partial clearance of clinically visible AKs on day 90. All acquired data were recorded and statistical analyses were performed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify possible predictive factors. We retrospectively analyzed patient-related and lesion-related factors to identify which variables, among age, gender, lesion site, pain, LSR score, and pretreatment clinical and dermoscopic grading, could independently predict the response to ingenol mebutate treatment. Our findings showed that pretreatment dermoscopic grade II represents an independent predictive factor of the efficacy of ingenol mebutate therapy (OR=14.78, 95% CI: 1.83-119.59, P=0.012) and that response rates differ on the basis of the treated anatomical sites (OR=0.16, 95% CI: 0.03-0.85, P=0.031). Data from this study provide evidence that ingenol mebutate gel is an effective treatment for AK, with relative ease of use, short exposure, and rapid resolution of local reactions, benefits contributing to high adherence of this therapy. Moreover, dermoscopic analysis of skin lesions offers more information than clinical evaluation alone and can be helpful in identifying different groups of AKs, thus selecting the adequate therapeutic choice.

Cutaneous candidiasis caused by Candida albicans in a young non-immunosuppressed patient: an unusual presentation.

Candidiasis is a fungal infection caused by yeasts that belong to the genus Candida. There are over 20 species of Candida yeasts that can cause infection in humans, the most common of which is Candida albicans. Candida yeasts normally reside in the intestinal tract and can be found on mucous membranes and skin without causing infection. However, under immunocompromised conditions, Candida can cause significant infections in susceptible patients. Herein, we report a peculiar presentation of a C. albicans cutaneous infection in an immunocompetent young subject. This case widens our knowledge on the C. albicans infections both in terms of host susceptibility and cutaneous manifestations.

Dermoscopy of verrucous epidermal nevus: large brown circles as a novel feature for diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: The epidermal nevus is a hamartomatous proliferation of the epithelium that can involve keratinocytes, sebaceous glands, the pilosebaceous unit, and eccrine or apocrine glands. It occurs in one in 1000 live births and most commonly presents as the verrucous type. Dermoscopy is a non-invasive technique commonly used to differentiate between melanocytic and non-melanocytic lesions. OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to analyze dermoscopic aspects of verrucous epidermal nevi, which have not previously been described. METHODS: Dermoscopic analyses of eight different verrucous epidermal nevi were conducted. Each lesion was excised, and its diagnosis was histopathologically confirmed. RESULTS: In non-melanocytic lesions, a new dermoscopic feature of large brown circles was observed. This characteristic is useful in the diagnosis of verrucous epidermal nevi. CONCLUSIONS: Large brown circles represent a specific dermoscopic feature for the diagnosis of verrucous epidermal nevus.