Dermatological adverse events under programmed cell death-1 inhibitors as a prognostic marker in metastatic melanoma.

Melanoma is widely treated with programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors. As part of their anti-tumor immunity effect, they increase the susceptibility to cutaneous immune-related adverse events (cIRAE) among other autoimmune effects. To characterize the manifestations of cIRAE in melanoma patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors, and evaluate the correlation with tumor response. A retrospective study of 95 metastatic malignant melanoma patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors at the Hadassah Medical Center during 2013-2016. The most common cIRAE was pruritus reported by 39 (41%) patients. All other cIRAE were noted in 34 patients (35.8%), of which the most common cutaneous manifestation was vitiligo, demonstrated in 17 patients (17.9%) followed by various rashes (7.4%, including erythema multiforme, oral lichen planus, photosensitive rash, insect bite-like reaction, and urticaria), psoriasiform rash (3.2%), bullous pemphigoid (3.2%), and eczema (1%). Interestingly, higher response rates to immunotherapy were demonstrated in patients who developed pruritus (85%) and cIRAE (88%), with lower mortality rates in the cIRAE group (38.2%) versus the non-cIRAE group (70.5%, p = 0.002). cIRAE are common among malignant melanoma patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors and may be a marker for favorable prognosis.

Injection site reactions with the use of biological agents.

Injection site reactions (ISRs) are a local phenomenon defined as a constellation of symptoms, including swelling, erythema, pruritus, and pain around the site of injection. This article reviews the different aspects of ISRs, including their epidemiology and pathogenesis, and provides practical guidance to diagnose and treat such reactions. More focus is given to food and drug administration (FDA)-approved biological agents and biosimilars, which are licensed mainly for the treatment of dermatological conditions, including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and chronic urticaria. ISRs are major complications of all FDA-approved self-injectable biological agents, both in adults and children, with studies showing an incidence rate of 0.5-40%. The article emphasizes that ISRs are not correlated with drug efficacy or development of antidrug antibodies. Therefore, misunderstanding of the pathophysiology of the ISRs, most of them not being allergic or immunogenic reactions, might result in unnecessary discontinuation of the treatment. Almost all local reactions to subcutaneously administered biological agents can be prevented by changing the injection techniques, patient education, and training.

Prevalence of Sharing Access Credentials in Electronic Medical Records.

OBJECTIVES: Confidentiality of health information is an important aspect of the physician patient relationship. The use of digital medical records has made data much more accessible. To prevent data leakage, many countries have created regulations regarding medical data accessibility. These regulations require a unique user ID for each medical staff member, and this must be protected by a password, which should be kept undisclosed by all means. METHODS: We performed a four-question Google Forms-based survey of medical staff. In the survey, each participant was asked if he/she ever obtained the password of another medical staff member. Then, we asked how many times such an episode occurred and the reason for it. RESULTS: A total of 299 surveys were gathered. The responses showed that 220 (73.6%) participants reported that they had obtained the password of another medical staff member. Only 171 (57.2%) estimated how many time it happened, with an average estimation of 4.75 episodes. All the residents that took part in the study (45, 15%) had obtained the password of another medical staff member, while only 57.5% (38/66) of the nurses reported this. CONCLUSIONS: The use of unique user IDs and passwords to defend the privacy of medical data is a common requirement in medical organizations. Unfortunately, the use of passwords is doomed because medical staff members share their passwords with one another. Strict regulations requiring each staff member to have it's a unique user ID might lead to password sharing and to a decrease in data safety.

Lymphatic Dissemination in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Following Local Treatment.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is diverse in its clinical presentation but usually demonstrates an erythematous, infiltrated, ulcerated, and crusted papule or nodule in exposed areas of the body. Rare clinical features have been reported including lymphatic dissemination, usually with subcutaneous nodules along lymphatic channels. Herein, we present six patients suffering from Old World CL with lymphatic dissemination characterized by sporotrichoid subcutaneous nodules along the lymphatic channels draining the primary lesion. Patients' history, clinical and laboratory findings were collected and summarized. Lymphatic dissemination of CL in our patients manifested as subcutaneous nodules without epidermal involvement within the axis of lymphatic drainage toward the regional lymph node, at times accompanied by regional lymphadenopathy. In all patients, the lymphatic dissemination was not present at initial diagnosis of CL, appearing only after local (topical or intralesional) treatment was initiated. In three patients, the subcutaneous nodules resolved without systemic treatment. Lymphatic dissemination of Old World CL is not uncommon and may possibly be triggered by local treatment. It should be recognized by dermatologists, especially those working in endemic areas. Systemic treatment may be not necessary since spontaneous resolution may occur.

An extraordinary colocalization of alopecia areata and vitiligo.

Although the association of alopecia areata (AA) and vitiligo occurring in the same patient has been frequently reported in the literature, the colocalization of AA and vitiligo is very rare. We report for the first time an adult patient with anatomic concurrence of AA and vitiligo on the scalp. Even though both AA and vitiligo are thought to have the same underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms, the striking rarity of their colocalization challenges this postulated common pathogenesis, and raises the question if autoimmunity is responsible for only a fraction of AA or vitiligo.