Calcified Keratoacanthoma with Tumoral Calcinosis in a 10-year-old Boy: A mere Co-incidence?

Keratoacanthoma (KA) is a rapidly evolving benign cutaneous tumor, occurring in elderly individuals with a tendency towards spontaneous regression and histopathologic similarity to squamous cell carcinoma. Tumoral calcinosis is an uncommon condition, associated with the deposition of painless calcific masses. The occurrence of these two conditions in the same patient is a rarity itself, whereas deposition of calcium within the KA lesion in our 13-year-old patient makes it even more intriguing. Such an association has been seldom reported in the literature, and this prompted the current report.

Immunotherapy in viral warts with intradermal Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine versus intradermal tuberculin purified protein derivative: A double-blind, randomized controlled trial comparing effectiveness and safety in a tertiary care center in Eastern India.

BACKGROUND: Current therapeutic modalities for viral warts are mostly ablative and are limited by high recurrence rates besides being unsuitable for numerous lesions. Immunotherapy has the potential to overcome these limitations. AIMS: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness and safety of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine versus tuberculin purified protein derivative in the immunotherapy of warts. METHODS: Patients received three doses of 0.1 ml of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine or tuberculin purified protein derivative intradermally over the deltoid region at 4-weekly intervals. They were followed-up for another month. Number of warts, complete cure rates and quality of life were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 60 patients were included. Complete clearance was noted in 16 (48.5%) out of 33 patients in the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin group and in 5 (18.5%) out of 27 in the tuberculin purified protein derivative group (P = 0.121). The number of lesions reduced statistically significantly from baseline in both the groups (P < 0.001) from the first follow-up visit onward (P < 0.05). The reduction was statistically significantly more in the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin group than in the tuberculin purified protein derivative group from the second follow-up onward. Dermatologic life quality index improved statistically significantly with both treatments. Adverse events (pain during injection, abscess formation and scarring at injection site) were more frequent with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin. No recurrence was seen after lesions cleared. LIMITATIONS: Patients were not followed up for more than 4 weeks after treatment. We could not estimate the cytokine levels or the peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation in response to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin/tuberculin purified protein derivative injections. CONCLUSION: Both intradermal Bacillus Calmette-Guerin and tuberculin purified protein derivative hold promise in the treatment of viral warts. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin may be more effective, though it had more adverse events in our study.

Erythema multiforme due to arsenic trioxide in a case of acute promyelocytic leukemia: A diagnostic challenge.

Erythema multiforme (EM) is an acute, self-limited, Type IV hypersensitivity reactions associated with infections and drugs. In this case of acute promyelocytic leukemia, EM diagnosed during the induction phase was mistakenly attributed to vancomycin used to treat febrile neutropenia during that period. However, the occurrence of the lesions of EM again during the consolidation phase with arsenic trioxide (ATO) lead to a re-evaluation of the patient and both the Naranjo and World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre scale showed the causality association as "probable." The rash responded to topical corticosteroids and antihistamines. This rare event of EM being caused by ATO may be attributed to the genetic variation of methyl conjugation in the individual which had triggered the response, and the altered metabolic byproducts acted as a hapten in the subsequent keratinocyte necrosis.

Unilateral nevoid trichoepitheliomas on the neck: an unfamiliar presentation.

Trichoepitheliomas are epidermal appendageal hamartomas, which usually present as solitary lesions; rarely multiple lesions may be present, mainly involving the centrofacial skin symmetrically. We report herein an adolescent male patient with multiple trichoepitheliomas, linearly arranged and dermatomal, present since birth, along the left side of the neck.

Bilateral Multisegmental Zosteriform Leiomyoma Cutis: A Rare Entity.

Cutaneous leiomyomas are benign tumors derived from the smooth muscles of the skin. They are firm, skin-colored to brownish, frequently painful papules and nodules presenting either as a solitary tumor or multiple clustered lesions. Uncommon patterns of multiple leiomyoma cutis include linear, zosteriform, or dermatomal-like arrangement of lesions. We saw a 32-year-old man who presented with clusters of skin colored to reddish brown, occasionally painful papules and nodules distributed segmentally over C6 to T8 dermatomes on left side and T11 to L1 dermatomes on right side. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of cutaneous leiomyoma. The case is reported here for the occurrence of this benign cutaneous neoplasm in an extremely rare bilateral multisegmental distribution.

Buschke-Fischer-Brauer Keratoderma: Linear Variety Associated with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Palmo-plantar keratodermas (PPKD) are a diverse group of acquired and hereditary disorders, characterized by excessive thickening of the skin of palms and soles. Here, we report a case of Type I or Buschke-Fischer-Brauer variant of punctate palmo-plantar keratoderma, in a 66-year-old gentleman. The association of our case with Hodgkin's lymphoma along with linear configuration of lesions on the palms evoked the current report.

Unilateral nevoid acanthosis nigricans: Uncommon variant of a common disease.

Acanthosis nigricans (AN) is a fairly common dermatosis characterized by hyperpigmented velvety plaques, having a predilection for the intertriginous areas. We herein present a case of unilateral nevoid acanthosis nigricans over the left lateral chest, in an adult male. The rarity of documentation of this entity in the world literature prompted us to report the case.