Granuloma annulare with alopecia areata in a 6-year-old girl: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Dermatologic signs and symptoms can be the manifestations of a single disease or different diseases, and it is proven that some are associated with one another. These connections are not fully understood, but the answer lies in the pathophysiology of each disease. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 6-year-old Middle-Eastern girl who presented with two skin lesions on the dorsum of her foot, along with scaling of her soles and palms, face skin discoloration, and areas of patchy alopecia on her scalp. She was diagnosed as a case of acute onset of granuloma annulare with alopecia areata and dermatitis. The treatment regimen for the patient's scalp consisted of topical minoxidil and betamethasone and three sessions with 1-month intervals of triamcinolone acetonide intralesional injections, which demonstrated modest effectiveness in treating alopecia areata. CONCLUSION: Granuloma annulare is a benign inflammatory illness with no known cause that might be difficult to cure. The clinical course and prognosis might vary greatly depending on the disease subtype, and associating symptoms and diseases, such as alopecia areata, should be considered.

The association of anxiety with granuloma annulare: a case-control study of the National Institutes of Health 'All of Us' research programme.

Dear Editor, Granuloma annulare (GA) is an inflammatory skin disease that has been associated with diabetes, dyslipidaemia, hypothyroidism and autoimmune disorders.1,2 The annualized incidence and prevalence of GA in the USA are approximately 0.04% and 0.06%, respectively (with a female predominance).3 GA is clinically classified as localized (75% of cases), generalized or subcutaneous.4 There is a body of evidence supporting an association between several inflammatory dermatoses, such as psoriasis, and mental health conditions.5 Improvement of depression and anxiety following treatment of certain inflammatory dermatoses has also been described.5 It has been postulated that this association may, in part, relate to proinflammatory cytokines, which have been proposed to mechanistically connect inflammatory dermatoses and mental health conditions.6 A recent nested case-control study demonstrated a significant association of GA with depression, insomnia, opioid dependence and post-traumatic stress disorder.7 This study aims to investigate whether an association exists between GA and anxiety.

Localized Versus Generalized Granuloma Annulare: A Retrospective Review of 407 Patients.

BACKGROUND: Granuloma annulare has been linked to diabetes, dyslipidemia, thyroid disease, collagen vascular disease, malignancies, infectious hepatitis, and systemic infections. However, these associations have not been systematically investigated when categorized by its clinical variants. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate disease associations of localized and generalized granuloma annulare. METHODS: In total, 407 granuloma annulare patients from 1989 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed, categorized by clinical variant (localized or generalized), age (pediatric or adult), and diagnostic method (clinical or histologic). Descriptive statistical analyses and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed. Fisher's exact tests were conducted to produce unbiased probability values. RESULTS: Overall, 75.2% of the study sample was female, 47.2% had dyslipidemia, 24.8% were diabetic, and 24.6% had thyroid disease. Dyslipidemia (OR 2.15, CI 1.95-2.35, P < .001), diabetes (OR 1.16, CI 1.01-1.31, P = .041), and histologic diagnosis (OR 2.08, CI 1.21-3.52, P = .007) were associated with increased risk of GGA compared to LGA. When stratified by adult versus pediatric cases, dyslipidemia and diagnostic method remained significant, but diabetes did not. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluating granuloma annulare by its clinical variants may help to determine disease associations with each variant.

Granuloma annulare: strengthening potential associations and pentoxifylline as a therapeutic option.

Granuloma annulare is frequently described in association with numerous systemic conditions and is often refractory to treatment. This retrospective review explored a large patient cohort to further strengthen associated comorbid conditions and assess response to different treatments in patients with granuloma annulare. This study found that patients with granuloma annulare frequently carried a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Additionally, the highest rate of improvement in any treatment category was seen with pentoxifylline use. Thus, should be further explored as a first-line therapeutic option in the treatment of granuloma annulare.

Prevalence of scratching during examination among patients with scabies and among patients with other pruritic dermatoses.

BACKGROUND: Scabies is a parasitic skin disease. Its clinical diagnosis may be challenging. METHODS: In a prospective observational study, we enrolled all consecutive patients ≥16 years of age with a presumptive diagnosis of scabies and all patients ≥16 years of age with a diffuse itchy dermatosis lasting for more than 1 week. We investigated whether patients with scabies were more prone to scratch themselves during the consultation than patients with other pruritic dermatoses. RESULTS: We observed that a significant proportion of patients (25/62, 40%) with scabies had to scratch while talking or being examined. This clinical sign was less frequently noticed in patients with pruritic dermatoses of other origins (26/196, 13%) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The observation of a patient scratching himself during the consultation should prompt serious consideration of scabies. This easily observable clinical sign may be especially useful in low-resource settings, where scabies is known to be very prevalent.

A Monocentric, Retrospective Analysis of 61 Patients with Generalized Granuloma Annulare.

BACKGROUND: Granuloma annulare is a chronic noninfectious granulomatous skin condition with variable clinical presentations. Generalized granuloma annulare, defined as widespread disease with >10 skin lesions, accounts for 15% of all cases. Numerous associated diseases have been controversially discussed, most importantly diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, thyroid disease, malignancy and systemic infections. OBJECTIVES: The objective of our study is to describe disease characteristics, treatment outcome and associated diseases in patients treated at the Department of Dermatology of the University Hospital Zurich during the last 20 years. METHODS: The hospital database was searched for patients with generalized granuloma annulare in the last 20 years (January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2017). Overall, 61 patients, 14 males and 47 females, were included in our study. The mean age was 58 years at first consultation. The diagnosis was verified clinically and histologically. RESULTS: Generalized granuloma annulare occurred at a mean age of 55 years, more commonly in females. Pruritus was absent in 51% of all patients. Metabolic diseases including diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterinemia and hypertriglyceridemia were present in 10.5, 8.2 and 4.9%, respectively. Thyroid disease was present in 9.8% and malignant disease in 23%, including colorectal cancer, lymphoproliferative disease, squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, basal cell carcinoma and gynecological malignancy. Therapy was initiated in 92%, while second- and third-line therapy was performed in 70 and 39%, respectively. Benefit during therapy (e.g., full and partial remission) was achieved in 39.3% during first-line, in 39.4% during second-line and in 33.8% during third-line treatment. Topical corticosteroids were the most commonly prescribed treatment, mostly leading to stable disease (46.6%). Combined full and partial remission occurred in a large proportion of patients receiving UVA1 (45%), PUVA (63.6%) and intralesional triamcinolone acetonide (100%). CONCLUSIONS: Generalized granuloma annulare is a mostly asymptomatic and benign disease with a strong tendency for treatment resistance. We suggest to screen all patients for dyslipidemia, thyroid disease and malignant disease. While randomized trials are needed, we suggest topical corticosteroids as the first-line treatment, intralesional triamcinolone acetonide for persistent solitary lesions and, if further treatment is needed, UVA1 or PUVA.

Granuloma anular, pronóstico de diabetes mellitus. A propósito de un caso / Annular granuloma, prognosis of diabetes mellitus. On the purpose of a case

RESUMEN El granuloma anular es una dermatosis de relativa frecuencia en niños, jóvenes y adultos. Está caracterizado por lesiones cutáneas eritemato-pápulo-nodulares, que adoptan una disposición anular. Su etiopatogenia es desconocida, pero con numerosos factores predisponentes, desencadenantes o asociados a ella; como es la diabetes mellitus y/o procesos neoplásicos o paraneoplásicos. Resulta importante el estudio de pacientes con este diagnóstico por su asociación con entidades como las antes mencionadas. Se realizó el reporte de un caso en adulto mayor de 65 años, con diagnóstico de granuloma anular, diabetes mellitus y neoplasia de páncreas (AU).

ABSTRACT Annular granuloma is a dermatosis relatively frequent in children, young and adult people. It is characterized by erythematous-papular-nodular skin lesions adopting annular disposition. Its etio-pathogenesis is unknown, but there are many predisposal, unleashing factors, or associated to this disease, like diabetes mellitus and/or neoplastic or paraneoplastic processes. It is important to study the patients diagnosed with the disease due to its association with entities like those before mentioned. The reported case is the case of a patient elder than 65 years, diagnosed with annular granuloma, diabetes mellitus and pancreas neoplasia (AU).