Perioperative immediate hypersensitivity incidence, clinical characteristics, and outcomes after allergological evaluation: A multi-disciplinary protocol from tertiary hospital, Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative immediate hypersensitivity reaction (POH) is an immediate hypersensitivity reaction during an anesthesiologist monitored procedure. We report data of clinically-suspected POH (csPOH) patients undergoing an allergist-performed unified diagnostic workup algorithm for POH. OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of patients with csPOH, POH events, and the POH outcomes of procedures after the unified diagnostic workup algorithm for POH. METHODS: A prospective cohort was conducted in adult patients with csPOH at Siriraj Hospital, a tertiary hospital, in Thailand from January 2018 to August 2022. Diagnostic workup for POH by the allergist included an initial assessment, followed by comprehensive allergological evaluation. Patients were then follow-up for POH outcomes during subsequent anesthesia procedures. RESULTS: Of 68 patients were csPOH, only 52 patients were diagnosed with POH by allergists. The incidence was 1:4,304 anesthetic procedures for POH, and 1:11,900 anesthetic procedures for at least grade III POH. Most patients had a grade III (51.2%) or II (46.4%) reaction. The leading identified causative agents were antibiotics (36.8%), antiseptics (21%), latex (13.1%), and morphine (13.1%). Cefazolin and chlorhexidine were the most common antibiotic and antiseptic, respectively. During a median follow-up time of 2.1 years, all 14 patients completing comprehensive allergological evaluation underwent subsequent anesthesia without recurrence of POH. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of POH at our hospital was comparable to the global incidence. Antibiotics were the most common causative agent. Complete records, collaboration among the multidisciplinary team, and comprehensive evaluation of POH allow for safe subsequent procedures.

The validity and reliability of the Thai-version of 5-D itch scale.

BACKGROUND: Pruritus is commonly associated with skin disorders. The 5-D itch scale was developed as a specific questionnaire for pruritus. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the validity, reliability, and sensitivity to change of the Thai 5-D itch scale in Thai patients. METHODS: The Thai Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), patient's global assessment of disease severity (PatGA-VAS), Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire (CU-Q2oL), and seven-day urticaria activity score (UAS7) were evaluated as correlation with Thai 5-D itch scale. Seventy-five stable patients (42 chronic urticaria patients and 33 eczema patients), who had no change in disease severity after 4-weeks were assessed for test-retest reliability. RESULTS: Of 130 pruritus patients who were treated at Department of Dermatology, Siriraj Hospital, 65 patients were diagnosed with chronic urticaria. The others were diagnosed with eczema. The validity of Thai 5-D itch scale correlated strongly with Thai DLQI total score (r = 0.76, p < 0.0001) and PatGA-VAS (r = 0.79, p < 0.0001). The strong reliability of Thai 5-D itch scale was demonstrated as intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.90. The changes in Thai 5-D itch scale was correlated with the changes in PatGA-VAS and UAS7 which indicated that the Thai 5-D itch scale had good sensitivity to change (r = 0.66) and (r = 0.67), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The Thai 5-D itch scale is a questionnaire with good validity, reliability and sensitivity to change to evaluate pruritus in Thai patients. This will support the use of 5-D itch scale in practice, in other languages.

Synthetic hair reactions and treatment of complications: Case reports.

BACKGROUND: Synthetic hair fiber implantation first achieved widespread use in the 1970s, but in 1983, the US Federal Drug Administration banned the fibers due to its complications. Currently available synthetic fibers consist of polyamide material, which has been claimed to be effective and safe. Nevertheless, its use for hair restoration is controversial because of complications such as recurrent infections; the rejection and the faster-than-anticipated loss of fibers; frequent allergic reactions; fears about carcinogenicity; cicatricial alopecia; granulomatous hypersensitivity; and cyst formation. AIMS: To report complications of synthetic hair implantation and treatments. METHODS: We report the clinical data, pathological studies, and treatment outcomes of two patients who developed complications after a synthetic hair implantation. RESULTS: Our case reports showed significant moderate-to-severe adverse events, including recurrent folliculitis, scalp crusting, scarring, the matting and breakage of fibers, and granulomatous reactions. The onset of the reactions varied between 1 and 8 weeks. Pathological studies showed that the implantation of the synthetic hair into the scalp produced a hyperplastic proliferation of epidermal cells, foreign body granuloma, and persistent acute inflammation due to bacterial infections. In our study, definitive treatment was ineffective until the synthetic fibers were removed from the scalp. CONCLUSION: These significant adverse reactions may limit the benefits of synthetic hair fiber implantation for some patients. Although the inflammations were initially controlled by oral and topical antibiotics, a variety of antibiotics were unable to control the folliculitis. The fibers were ultimately removed, following which, the inflammations improved.

Factors Predicting the Response to Cyclosporin Treatment in Patients With Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to systemically review literature relating to factors that could potentially predict a favorable response to cyclosporine A (CsA) treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). METHODS: A systematic literature review was done according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis recommendations. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies (404 patients with CSU and 200 healthy patients) were included. There were only 1 randomized controlled trial (RCT) and 12 non-RCTs. Our systematic review showed that positive autologous serum skin test results, positive baseline basophil histamine release assays, positive baseline basophil activation test responses, elevated baseline plasma D-dimer levels, elevated baseline serum interleukin (IL)-2, IL-5, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels, and low baseline serum IgE levels might assist in predicting favorable CsA responses in CSU patients. Decreased plasma D-dimer levels; and decreased serum IL-2, IL-5, and TNF-α levels were reported to be correlated with clinical improvement after CsA treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Since most positive results were from non-RCT articles and some data were still inconsistent, this systematic review identified no reliable practical biomarker for predicting CsA treatment response in patients with CSU. There were no positive predictors with good consistency and mechanical plausibility.

Generation of an integration-free human induced pluripotent stem cell line MUSIi010-A from occipital scalp fibroblasts of a male patient with androgenetic alopecia.

An induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line, MUSIi010-A, was established by Sendai virus (SeV) transduction of scalp fibroblasts from a 59-year-old male with androgenetic alopecia (AGA). Pluripotency of the iPSC line was verified by immunofluorescence staining of pluripotent markers and by in vitro trilineage differentiation. The MUSIi010-A line was shown to retain normal karyotype and free of SeV vectors at passage 17. This iPSC line can be used for studying pathological mechanisms of AGA.

Treatments of cold urticaria: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Several treatment options for cold urticaria (ColdU) have been studied and reported, but systematic reviews and meta-analyses are limited. OBJECTIVES: We sought to meta-analyze and review the efficacy and safety of ColdU treatments. METHODS: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. Suitable reports were identified by searching PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Our systematic review included 16 studies, 9 of which met the eligibility criteria for the meta-analysis. We analyzed the effects of treatments on critical temperature thresholds (CTTs) and critical stimulation time thresholds (CSTTs), as well as on rates of complete response and adverse events. RESULTS: Our pooled meta-analyses showed that nonsedating second-generation H1-antihistamines (nsAHs) are effective in the treatment of ColdU and that updosing of nsAHs significantly reduced CTTs relative to their own standard doses and placebos. In 4 studies involving CSTTs, updosing of nsAHs also resulted in significantly better CSTTs than their own standard doses or placebos. Omalizumab resulted in a marked reduction of CTTs in H1-antihistamine-resistant patients. Of 118 adverse events in 8 studies, standard-dose nsAHs, updosed nsAHs, and omalizumab produced lower numbers of adverse events than first-generation antihistamines. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that greater dosages of nsAHs were more effective than standard dosages in controlling ColdU symptoms. Increasing the dosages was not significantly associated with higher adverse event rates. Omalizumab at 150 and 300 mg every 4 weeks was shown to be effective for patients with ColdU refractory to antihistamines.