Eyelid involvement in paracoccidioidomycosis.

PURPOSE: To describe a series of patients with eyelid lesions caused by paracoccidioidomycosis and to estimate the prevalence of eyelid involvement in this disease METHODS: The medical records of 439 patients with paracoccidioidomycosis admitted to our hospital from 1992 to 2002 were reviewed. Age, sex, and clinical forms of the disease were recorded. All patients with eyelid involvement had a skin biopsy positive for paracoccidioidomycosis and were examined by an ophthalmologist with oculoplastic training. RESULTS: Of 439 patients with acute, subacute, or chronic paracoccidioidomycosis, 11 (2.5%) had eyelid involvement. Active lesions ranged from erythematous patches of madarosis to frank destructive ulcers indistinguishable from malignancies. Healed lesions were characterized by a high degree of fibrosis. Cicatricial changes induced eyelid malpositions (entropion or ectropion) and fusion of eyelid tissues to the globe. Madarosis was a constant finding in the inactive lesions. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of eyelid involvement in paracoccidioidomycosis is low. Isolated active lesions are usually diagnosed as malignant tumors. Cicatricial changes are characterized by a high degree of fibrosis. If not treated, the mycosis can destroy the eyelid.

Update on dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scanning in children with urinary tract infection.

The dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scan is a method for assessing kidney function. Indications for DMSA scanning in children with urinary tract infection (UTI), as well as timing, have changed. Pitfalls in interpreting DMSA scans include: (1) acute pyelonephritis (APN), (2) tubular dysfunction, (3) hypertension, (4) use of captopril in patients with renovascular hypertension and (5) duplex kidneys. Interpretation of DMSA scans in children with UTI vary according to timing and clinical setting. During the course of a febrile UTI a DMSA scan may reveal a normal kidney, APN or a non-functioning, small and/or ectopic kidney. In the absence of UTI (up to 6 months) in children with vesicoureteric reflux a DMSA scan may indicate a normal kidney, renal scarring (reflux nephropathy), occult duplex kidney and allows the progression of scarring and hypertrophy of normal areas of the kidney to be followed anatomically. The DMSA renal scan in now the most reliable test for the diagnosis of APN. The transient abnormalities due to APN can occur in normal or scarred kidneys. Lesions due to reflux nephropathy (defined as a defect in the renal outline or contraction of the whole kidney) are permanent. Intravenous urography reveals renal abnormalities later than the DMSA scan. If abnormalities are seen on a DMSA scan performed during the course of APN it is impossible to predict the outcome: they can progress to permanent scarring or heal completely. An abnormal DMSA scan during a febrile UTI allows the identification of children at risk of developing renal scars. These children should be carefully investigated, maintained on long-term quimioprophylaxis and followed.

Adenocarcinoma of retinal pigment epithelium arising from a juxtapapillary histoplasmosis scar.

A 66-year-old woman underwent a transocular fine-needle aspiration biopsy for an enlarging mass arising from a juxtapapillary histoplasmosis scar in the left eye. The cytologic study revealed pigmented malignant cells, suggesting that the lesion was either a malignant choroidal melanoma or an adenocarcinoma of the retinal pigment epithelium. The eye was enucleated and histopathologic studies revealed findings suggestive of an adenocarcinoma of the retinal pigment epithelium. Immunohistochemical stains were positive for cytokeratin and were negative for melanoma-specific antigen, supporting an epithelial origin of the neoplasm. It is possible that the tumor developed as a neoplastic transformation of a reactive proliferation of the retinal pigment epithelium in a histoplasmosis scar. The possible association between a chorioretinal scar and the development of a tumor of the pigment epithelium is discussed herein.

Diagnóstico de infección invasora en quemaduras: comparación de tres métodos / Diagnosis of invasive infection in burns: comparison of 3 methods

En 10 pacientes con quemaduras de tercer grado de 19ñ4,5 por ciento de superficie corporal comprometida, se tomaron biopsias de la herida el día 5§, 12§ y 18§ para comparar prospectivamente el rendimiento individual de la biopsia contemporánea por congelación, biopsia diferida por inclusión y el recuento de colonias por gramo de tejido, de los pacientes con infección invasora y potencial desarrollo de sepsis secundaria. En 6 casos se produjo infección invasora clínica. De ellos, 2 pacientes presentaron sépsis. En 4 pacientes no se identificó infección invasora. No hubo mortalidad. En los pacientes con infección invasora, 15/18 muestras evidenciaron gérmenes en tejido vital en la biopsia contemporánea. En la biopsia diferida, 16/18 y 14/18 muestras mostraron gérmenes e inflamación, lo que es comparable para ambos métodos. En el grupo sin infección invasora, 2/12 muestras señalaron gérmenes con ambas técnicas. El recuento de coloniaspor gramo fue 10 5 en 14/18 muestras en el grupo con infección invasora y 10 3 en 8/12 muestras en el segundo grupo, diferencia estadísticamente significativa. Se concluye que en una experiencia inicial, los métodos biópticos y microbiológicos cuantitativos han sido efectivos para diagnosticar precozmente la infección invasora de la herida con una predicción de 78 y 83 por ciento respectivamente, lo que permitirá ajustar oportunamente el tratamiento local y sistémico en futuros casos de alto riesgo y evitar la sepsis. Se destaca la ventaja en la rapidez de información que ofrece la biopsia contemporánea por congelación