Dermatological manifestations associated with COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination: results from the Lebanese COVID registry.

BACKGROUND: A number of cutaneous manifestations and adverse cutaneous reactions have been associated with COVID-19 infection and vaccine. OBJECTIVES: A Lebanese national registry was established to characterize the dermatologic manifestations and adverse cutaneous reactions associated with COVID-19 infection and vaccination in a sample of the Lebanese population. METHODS: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted via a web-based clinical form distributed to physicians wishing to report their cases from May 2021 till May 2022. RESULTS: In total, 142 patients were entered in the registry, of which 133 were adults and nine were pediatric patients. The main dermatological manifestations reported with COVID-19 infection in the adult group were urticaria (32.9%), telogen effluvium (21.4%), morbilliform (10%), and papulosquamous (8.6%) eruptions. Urticaria was the most common adverse cutaneous reaction to the vaccine (33%). Interestingly, herpes zoster was triggered in 12 patients post vaccination in our series with this finding more frequently seen in patients above the age of 41 (P = 0.013). In the pediatric group, the most reported dermatological findings associated with COVID-19 infection were malar erythema (25%) and telogen effluvium (25%). One 16-year-old patient developed lichen planus after one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. No deaths were reported in both age groups. CONCLUSION: This Lebanese registry adds more robust evidence that clinical manifestations of the COVID-19 virus and vaccine are diverse. More studies are necessary to establish the pathophysiology of these dermatological findings in the context of COVID-19 infection and vaccination.

Treatment of pediculosis capitis with topical albendazole.

Pediculosis capitis, or head lice infestation, caused by Pediculus humanus capitis, is a common and ubiquitous health concern. Increasing resistance and treatment failures are reported with available topical pediculicides and may prove challenging to manage. Recent data indicate that the oral anti-helmintic agents thiabendazole and albendazole could represent new therapeutic options against pediculosis capitis. We report a novel treatment modality in four patients with head lice who were successfully treated with a topical application of albendazole.

Additional conjunctival and penile pigmentation in Laugier-Hunziker syndrome: a report of two cases.

BACKGROUND: Laugier-Hunziker syndrome is a rare acquired hyperpigmentation of the oral mucosa and lips which is often associated with longitudinal melanonychia. We report two patients exhibiting the classical features of Laugier-Hunziker syndrome with additional and previously unreported conjunctival and penile pigmentation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two patients presented with a history of progressive acquired macular pigmentation of the oral mucosa, the lips, the ocular conjunctiva and the penis. Longitudinal melanonychia was found in one patient. Microscopic features (basal epithelial melanosis, moderate acanthosis and superficial pigmentary incontinence) and ultrastructural details (increased number of normal-appearing melanosomes inside basal keratinocytes and dermal melanophages) were characteristic of Laugier-Hunziker syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: These two observations illustrate the topographical variations of Laugier-Hunziker syndrome and highlight the need to expand the originally described features to include more widespread areas of hyperpigmentation.

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies of IgA class in neutrophilic dermatoses with emphasis on erythema elevatum diutinum.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of IgA and IgG antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) in erythema elevatum diutinum in comparison with 2 other groups of neutrophilic dermatoses: Sweet syndrome and pyoderma gangrenosum. DESIGN: Detection of IgA and IgG ANCAs in the serum of patients with neutrophilic dermatoses and characterization of the previously known antigenic targets. SETTING: All serum was analyzed without knowledge of diagnosis in the Immunology Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France. PATIENTS: Ten patients with erythema elevatum diutinum, 10 with Sweet syndrome, 10 with pyoderma gangrenosum, and 10 healthy volunteers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: IgA and IgG ANCAs were sought by indirect immunofluorescence with ethanol and formaldehyde-fixed human neutrophil preparations as the substrate. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were further performed for antigen characterization. RESULTS: IgA ANCAs were observed in 60% and IgG ANCAs in 10 (33%) of the patients. All patients with erythema elevatum diutinum had IgA ANCAs. IgA fluorescence in formaldehyde-fixed neutrophils was restricted to those from patients with erythema elevatum diutinum. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays disclosed no single predominant target, and antigens remained largely undetermined in erythema elevatum diutinum. CONCLUSIONS: The ANCAs, particularly of IgA class, may prove to be a helpful paraclinical marker in erythema elevatum diutinum and an interesting perspective for understanding the pathophysiology of the disease. The nature of the unidentified targets and the pathogenicity of ANCAs, however, remain to be assessed.

Protein Z deficiency in antiphospholipid-negative Sneddon's syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Sneddon's syndrome is characterized by the association of ischemic cerebrovascular events and widespread livedo racemosa. The pathophysiology of Sneddon's syndrome remains elusive, but various prothrombotic abnormalities have been previously reported in this setting. Low levels of protein Z, a downregulator of coagulation, have been recently linked to an increased risk of arterial thrombosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of protein Z in a series of Sneddon's syndrome patients without circulating antiphospholipid antibodies in comparison with an age- and sex-matched control population. METHODS: Twenty-six patients and 78 healthy controls had determination of their protein Z blood levels by an enzyme-linked immunoassay test. Patients' thrombotic and vascular risk factors, including tobacco smoking, arterial hypertension, oral contraceptive agents, dyslipidemia, factor V Leiden, and factor II mutation were recorded. RESULTS: Protein Z plasma levels were significantly lower in patients (mean 1.47 mg/L) than in controls (mean 1.93 mg/L) (P=0.02). Prevalence of protein Z deficiency (level <1 mg/L) was significantly higher (P=0.001) among patients (31%) than among controls (3.8%). Factor V Leiden and heavy smoking were observed in 4 and 7 patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sneddon's syndrome could be viewed as the peculiar clinical expression of various and sometimes associated coagulation abnormalities. Low levels of protein Z may account, at least partly, for the thrombotic events observed in Sneddon's syndrome and shed a new light on its pathophysiology. Clinical implications for protein Z deficiency in this setting deserve further investigations.

Familial Laugier-Hunziker syndrome.

We report the unusual occurrence of 3 cases of Laugier-Hunziker syndrome in the same family.

[Classification of dermatologic manifestations in lupus erythematosus]. / Classification des lésions dermatologiques du lupus.

Various dermatologic manifestations are observed in the different lupus subsets. Lupus lesions are characterized by a dermo-epidermal dermatitis. Other lesions, vascular or non vascular, are essentially present in association with systemic lupus erythematosus. Acute, subacute and chronic lupus erythematosus are distinguishable according to their clinical aspects, pathological features and evolution. Acute lesions are either localized to the midface or widespread. Subacute lesions may be annular or psoriasiform. Chronic lupus erythematosus includes localized or widespread discoid lupus, lupus tumidus, chilblain lupus and panniculitis. Therapy of cutaneous lupus is mainly based on antimalarials and avoidance of sun irradiation. In refractory cutaneous lupus, no universal guidelines are currently available. Except for acrosyndromes and urticaria-like lesions, vascular lesions may be due to vasculitis or thrombosis. An accurate diagnosis is absolutely necessary since therapy is different in thrombosis and vasculitis. Non vascular and non lupus lesions are numerous, some of them require special treatment such as dapsone for bullous lupus.

[Paraneoplastic dermatoses]. / Les dermatoses paranéoplasiques.

Paraneoplastic cutaneous syndromes are non neoplastic conditions related and evolving in parallel to underlying malignancy. Their recognition is of particular importance since they can provide valuable hints for early diagnosis of underlying tumors. In this paper, authors emphasize the commonest and recently identified paraneoplastic cutaneous conditions.

[How to recognize scleroderma]. / Comment reconnaître une sclérodermie.

Systemic sclerosis is a multisystem disorder characterized by the presence of connective tissue sclerosis, vascular abnormalities concerning small-sized arteries and the microcirculation, and autoimmune changes. This disease is usually preceded by Raynaud's phenomenon. Cutaneous changes are useful for diagnosis. Sclerosis is initially proeminent on hands with frequently pitted scars. Telangiectases and calcium deposits are mainly observed in a good prognosis subset of the disease (CREST) characterized by the association of limited skin involvement and anti-centromere antibodies with possible late onset of pulmonary hypertension. The bad prognosis subset is associated with diffuse cutaneous sclerosis, pulmonary fibrosis, gastrointestinal disease, myocardial involvement and anti-topo-isomerase I antibodies. Histological skin changes are similar to those observed in morphea. In morphea, there is only localized sclerosis of the skin with highly variable aesthetic disability. The condition may be subdivided clinically into the following types: circumscribed plaques, linear morphea and frontoparietal lesions. The last two forms may be associated with atrophy of the underlying anatomic structures. Many other diseases may have a scleroderma-like appearance. In these diseases, nail folds abnormalities, visceral involvement and immunological changes are usually different from those observed in systemic scleroderma.