Microecological investigation and comparison of two clinical methods to evaluate axillary osmidrosis.

Axillary osmidrosis (AO) is a common disease that causes patients to develop malodor and occurs worldwide. There is a lack of uniform standards to evaluate the severity of the odor and identify a sensitive and convenient method to determine the therapeutic effect of AO treatments in a clinical setting. In the present study, the association between pH value and disease severity was investigated and the potential pathogenic bacteria and probiotic pathogens of AO were further examined. A total of 32 patients with bilateral AO and 32 normal healthy controls were recruited for the present study. The odor was investigated using the traditional method (TM) and our groups newly developed Lu swab method (LSM) and according to the results, the cases were assigned a score on a 4­point scale. The patients' scores and pH value were recorded. The microbiological compositions of the affected sites were determined using 16S rDNA sequencing. The mean LSM score was higher compared with the mean TM score (P<0.05). Furthermore, the mean axillary pH value was higher in patients with AO compared with that in healthy subjects (P<0.0001), and the mean pH value of patients with high disease severity was higher compared with that in patients with moderate disease severity (P<0.001). In the microecological flora, the proportion of Staphylococcus species on patients with AO was significantly lower compared with that on normal controls (P<0.0001), while the proportion of Corynebacterium and Anaerococcus was significantly higher compared with that on normal controls (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively). In conclusion, LSM provided a higher sensitivity for evaluating odor severity than the TM and may be suitable for use in a clinical setting. The pH value was positively associated with AO severity. Staphylococcus may be an appropriate probiotic for the treatment of AO, while Corynebacterium and Anaerococcus may be causative pathogens of AO. The present study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration no. ChiCTR2000037275).

Coloured sweat in two brothers: First report of familial chromhidrosis.

The uncommon diagnosis of chromhidrosis is most frequently made in young adults. This sweat gland disease, although benign, may impact significantly on the patient's quality of life. We describe the first report of familial chromhidrosis of pseudo-eccrine type (pseudochromhidrosis) occurring in two brothers aged 9 and 12 years. The classification and causality of chromhidrosis is described and approaches to assessment and management are outlined.

Pseudochromhidrosis: blue discolouration of the head and neck.

A 57-year-old man is presented with blue pseudochromhidrosis affecting the face and neck following combination treatment with lansoprazole, a proton pump inhibitor, and ranitidine, a type two histamine receptor antagonist. The diagnosis was made on the basis of clinico-histological features and growth of Malassezia furfur, and Bacillus species, not Bacillus cereus, in the absence of lipofuscin. The pseudochromhidrosis resolved on stopping both medications and did not recur on restarting only the proton pump inhibitor.

Correlation between bacterial population and axillary and plantar bromidrosis: study of 30 patients.

Although studies on the chemistry of odors are expanding to identify the chemical structures of odorous substances, there are no universal standards as yet to measure odor and intensity of bromidrosis. Clinical evaluation can be made on a subjective scoring from 0 to 3 prior to prescription of an antiseptic soap. In order to appreciate the correlation between the intensity of bromidrosis (BI) and bacterial activity, a study was carried out with both clinical and bacterial assessment in thirty patients with axillary or plantar BI. Odor intensity was evaluated by two physicians using a score from 0 to 3 (i.e. absent, minor, moderate, major), meanwhile bacterial composition and density were assessed before and after 10 days of hygiene using an antiseptic detergent (trichlocarbanilide) provided on the first visit. Baseline count of diphtheroids/cm2 was 35.104 and baseline micrococci average was 32.104/cm2. At the end of the study, the reduction of odor intensity was observed in 20 patients (67%) without any change in sweat production. The clinical improvement correlated with a reduction of both micrococci (70%) or diphtheroids (73%) as compared with initial data. In patients presenting persistant bromidrosis, the bacterial count/cm2 did not significantly decrease and remained above 104 diphtheroids/cm2. Thus, this study suggests that body odor may be at least indirectly correlated to microbia counts with a bacteria threshold of BI ranging around and above 104.

Hidradenitis suppurativa. Glucose tolerance, clinical, microbiologic, and immunologic features and HLA frequencies in 27 patients.

Glucose tolerance, lymphocyte populations, and HLA types were studied in 27 patients with untreated hidradenitis suppurativa; 18 of these patients had a negative history for acne vulgaris. Six patients (22%) had an increased incidence of impaired glucose tolerance. We failed to confirm a previous report of high incidence of flat glucose tolerance curves. The frequency of HLA-A and HLA-B antigen loci and the median values of peripheral blood T lymphocytes were similar to the control population. However, seven patients with moderate or severe clinical disease had a marked reduction in T lymphocytes and these patients had an increased frequency of the HLA antigens, A1 and B8. These results suggest that T lymphocytes may play a role in the pathogenesis of hidradenitis suppurativa and that HLA-A1 and HLA-B8 may predispose the patient to more severe disease, but further research is necessary to clarify this.

Bacteriology and antibiotic treatment of perineal suppurative hidradenitis.

A plausible bacterial pathogen (Streptococcus milleri, Staphylococcus aureus, anaerobic streptococcus, or Bacteroides species) was isolated at least once in 26 of 32 patients with active perineal suppurative hidradenitis. The main pathogen was S milleri, whose presence was significantly associated with disease activity and whose disappearance significantly correlated with clinical improvement; S aureus nd anaerobic streptococci were also implicated.