Histopathologic Findings of Evolving Mpox Lesions.

ABSTRACT: This article reports two cases of the 2022 mpox virus with notable histopathology, and includes a novel description of mpox pseudotumor in the perianal region which is not previously described. This article additionally includes literature review of characteristic histopathology through evolving lesions, as it is sparsely described in relation to the 2022 mpox outbreak. Case one describes a 42-year-old man who presented with umbilicated, smooth papules on the trunk and extremities, and milia-like papules on the face. Histopathology of an umbilicated lesion revealed epidermal acanthosis with keratinocyte pallor, ballooning degeneration, keratinocyte necrosis, and neutrophilic epitheliotropism. Case two describes a 51-year-old man who presented with scattered eroded papules as well as a perianal mass. Histopathology of the mass revealed ulceration with keratinocyte enlargement and pallor with a mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate. It additionally revealed rare multinucleated keratinocytes with nuclear molding. These cases are remarkable and contribute to literature as reports of the histopathology of the atypical 2022 mpox outbreak are rare. A combination of clinical, laboratory, and histopathologic evidence is useful in diagnosing mpox, and these cases contribute to describing the evolution of viral lesions.

The effect of histopathologic analysis and tissue cultures on inpatient management of cellulitis: a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: In the absence of a gold-standard diagnostic modality for cellulitis, sterile inflammatory disorders may be misdiagnosed as cellulitis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the utility of skin biopsy and tissue culture for the diagnosis and management of patients admitted with a diagnosis of presumed cellulitis. DESIGN: Pilot single-blind parallel group randomized controlled clinical trial in 56 patients with a primary diagnosis of presumed cellulitis. In the intervention group only, skin biopsy and tissue culture results were made available to the primary care team to guide diagnosis and management. Length of hospital stay and antibiotic use were evaluated as outcome measures. RESULTS: Length of stay showed the greatest opportunity for further study as a primary outcome (intervention: 4, IQR (2-6) vs. control: 5 IQR (3-8) days; p = 0.124). LIMITATIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic placed limitations on participant enrollment and study duration; in addition, data was collected from a single medical center. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that length of stay and anti-pseudomonal antibiotic de-escalation are endpoints that may be influenced by biopsy and tissue culture results in presumed cellulitis patients; these outcomes warrant further study.

Inpatient Management of Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Delphi Consensus Study.

Inpatient hospitalization of individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) has increased. Inpatient services may not be familiar enough with this disease to understand how to manage severe HS and/or HS flares. It would be beneficial to the inpatient medical community to establish consensus recommendations on holistic inpatient care of patients with HS. A survey study was developed and distributed by Wake Forest University School of Medicine (Winston-Salem, North Carolina). A total of 26 dermatologists participated in the Delphi process, and the process was conducted in 2 rounds. Participants voted on proposal statements using a 9-point scale (1=very inappropriate; 9=very appropriate). Statements were developed using current published guidelines for management of HS and supportive care guidelines for other severe inpatient dermatologic diseases. A total of 50 statements were reviewed and voted on between the 2 rounds. Consensus was determined using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method. Twenty-six dermatologists completed the first-round survey, and 24 completed the second-round survey. The 40 consensus recommendations generated through these surveys can serve as a resource for providers caring for inpatients with HS.

Acute Interstitial Inflammation on Skin Biopsies and Positive Tissue Cultures in Cellulitis Patients Are Associated a Worse Prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Cellulitis is a significant public health burden and lacks a gold standard for diagnosis. Up to 1/3 of patients are incorrectly diagnosed. The skin biopsy has been proposed as the gold standard. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we evaluate the histopathologic characteristics and tissue culture positivity of biopsies in patients diagnosed with cellulitis seen by our inpatient dermatology consultation service. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study examined patients who were hospitalized with a skin and soft tissue infection at our institution between 2011 and 2020 and underwent a skin biopsy. RESULTS: Those with a positive tissue culture were more likely to die within 30 days compared with those with negative tissue cultures (26% vs. 6%, P = 0.048). Patients who died within 30 days were more likely to have acute interstitial inflammation as a feature on histopathology (38%, P = 0.03). LIMITATIONS: Single institutional design, unintentional exclusion of patients with organism-specific diagnosis, and selection for a medically complex patient population because of the nonroutine collection of biopsies. CONCLUSION: Positive tissue cultures and histopathology showing acute interstitial space inflammation on skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) biopsies are associated with increased mortality and thus may serve as indicators of poor prognosis.

Treatment of Pyoderma Gangrenosum With Vilobelimab.

This case report describes a man in his 20s with psoriasis who was receiving stable treatment with adalimumab for 3 years and was diagnosed with pyoderma gangrenosum and was referred for a 6-month history of multiple inflammatory ulcers on the right dorsal foot and ankle.

Outcome measurements in epidermal necrolysis: a systematic review.

Steven Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), grouped together under the terminology of epidermal necrolysis (EN), are a spectrum of life-threatening dermatologic conditions. A lack of standardization and validation for existing endpoints has been identified as a key barrier to the comparison of these therapies and development of evidenced-based treatment. Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of prospective studies involving systemic or topical treatments for EN, including dressing and ocular treatments. Outcomes were separated into mortality assessment, cutaneous outcomes, non-cutaneous clinical outcomes, and mucosal outcomes. The COSMIN Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the quality of studies on reliability and measurement error of outcome measurement instruments. Outcomes across studies assessing treatment in the acute phase of EN were varied. Most data came from prospective case reports and cohort studies representing the lack of available randomized clinical trial data available in EN. Our search did not reveal any EN-specific validated measures or scoring tools used to assess disease progression and outcomes. Less than half of included studies were considered "adequate" for COSMIN risk of bias in reliability and measurement error of outcome measurement instruments. With little consensus about management and treatment of EN, consistency and validation of measured outcomes is of the upmost importance for future studies to compare outcomes across treatments and identify the most effective means of combating the disease with the highest mortality managed by dermatologists.

Pyoderma gangrenosum, acne, and suppurative hidradenitis (PASH) syndrome: a single-institution case series with a focus on management.

BACKGROUND: Pyoderma gangrenosum, acne, and suppurative hidradenitis (PASH) syndrome is a rare condition characterized by clinical features of all three dermatologic conditions. The management of PASH syndrome is difficult, with no consensus on treatment guidelines. Since PASH syndrome can increase morbidity and adversely impact quality of life, better characterization of effective therapies is needed. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to identify all patients with pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) treated at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center between 2015 and 2021. PG diagnosis was confirmed via PARACELSUS score. Subsequent chart review identified eight patients with concomitant hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and acne who were clinically diagnosed with PASH syndrome. RESULTS: Eight patients were clinically diagnosed with PASH syndrome based on their clinical presentation at our institution. Seven patients had failed some type of medical therapy prior to presentation, including topical corticosteroids, oral corticosteroids, oral antibiotics, and biologics. One patient had also tried surgical drainage at an outside institution. Six patients were effectively treated with biologics, usually in combination with other therapies. One patient experienced improvement of her skin lesions after diagnosis and treatment of her underlying hematologic malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: Medical management with biologics in combination with corticosteroids and/or antibiotics was effective in the management of most patients. Diagnosis and treatment of an underlying condition should be prioritized in refractory cases. If workup is negative, surgical management may be considered. Further investigation with a greater number of patients is required to develop management guidelines for PASH syndrome.

Diagnostic accuracy of high-frequency ultrasound for cutaneous neoplasms: a narrative review of the literature.

High-frequency ultrasound has been used to visualize depth and vascularization of cutaneous neoplasms, but little has been synthesized as a review for a robust level of evidence about the diagnostic accuracy of high-frequency ultrasound in dermatology. A narrative review of the PubMed database was performed to establish the correlation between ultrasound findings and histopathologic/dermoscopic findings for cutaneous neoplasms. Articles were divided into the following four categories: melanocytic, keratinocytic/epidermal, appendageal, and soft tissue/neural neoplasms. Review of the literature revealed that ultrasound findings and histopathology findings were strongly correlated regarding the depth of a cutaneous neoplasm. Morphological characteristics were correlated primarily in soft tissue/neural neoplasms. Overall, there is a paucity of literature on the correlation between high-frequency ultrasound and histopathology of cutaneous neoplasms. Further studies are needed to investigate this correlation in various dermatologic conditions.

Symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema with high-risk systemic features: a unique clinical phenotype in hospitalized patients.

Symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE) is classically considered a low-risk, self-limiting eruption lacking systemic manifestations and sparing facial and mucosal areas. We present 7 inpatients meeting diagnostic criteria for SDRIFE with concomitant systemic manifestations ± high-risk facial involvement acutely after antibiotic exposure (mean latency 6.71 days). These cases deviate from classic, self-limited SDRIFE and represent a unique phenotype of SDRIFE, characterized by coexisting extracutaneous manifestations. Onset of systemic stigmata coincided with or preceded cutaneous involvement in 4 and 3 patients, respectively. All patients developed peripheral eosinophilia and 6 patients had ≥ 2 extracutaneous systems involved. Facial involvement, a high-risk feature associated with severe cutaneous adverse reactions but atypical in classic SDRIFE, occurred in 4 cases. Patients had favorable clinical outcomes following drug cessation and treatment with 4-6 week corticosteroid tapers. We suggest that baseline labs be considered in hospitalized patients with antibiotic-induced SDRIFE. These patients may also necessitate systemic therapy given extracutaneous involvement, deviating from standard SDRIFE treatment with drug cessation alone.

Drug Reaction With Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms With Pustulosis.

This cohort study examines patients with drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms who also have pustules.

Myeloid neoplasm with histiocytosis and spleen tyrosine kinase fusion responds to fostamatinib.

Not available.

Defining D-irAEs: consensus-based disease definitions for the diagnosis of dermatologic adverse events from immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

With an increasing number of patients eligible for immune checkpoint inhibitors, the incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) is on the rise. Dermatologic immune-related adverse events (D-irAEs) are the most common and earliest to manifest, often with important downstream consequences for the patient. Current guidelines lack clarity in terms of diagnostic criteria for D-irAEs. The goal of this project is to better define D-irAE for the purposes of identification, diagnosis, and future study of this important group of diseases.The objectives of this project were to develop consensus guidance for an approach to D-irAEs including disease definitions and severity grading. Knowing that consensus among oncologists, dermatologists, and irAE subspecialists would be critical for usability, we formed a Dermatologic irAE Disease Definition Panel. The panel was composed of 34 experts, including oncologists, dermatologists, a rheumatologist, and an allergist/immunologist from 22 institutions across the USA and internationally. A modified Delphi consensus process was used, with two rounds of anonymous ratings by panelists and two virtual meetings to discuss areas of controversy. Panelists rated content for usability, appropriateness, and accuracy on 9-point scales in electronic surveys and provided free text comments. A working group aggregated survey responses and incorporated them into revised definitions. Consensus was based on numeric ratings using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method with prespecified definitions.Following revisions based on panelist feedback, all items received consensus in the second round of ratings. Consensus definitions were achieved for 10 core D-irAE diagnoses: ICI-vitiligo, ICI-lichen planus, ICI-psoriasis, ICI-exanthem, ICI-bullous pemphigoid, ICI-Grover's, ICI-eczematous, ICI-eruptive atypical squamous proliferation, ICI-pruritus without rash, and ICI-erosive mucocutaneous. A standard evaluation for D-irAE was also found to reach consensus, with disease-specific exceptions detailed when necessary. Each disorder's description includes further details on disease subtypes, symptoms, supportive exam findings, and three levels of diagnostic certainty (definite, probable, and possible).These consensus-driven disease definitions standardize D-irAE classification in a useable framework for multiple disciplines and will be the foundation for future work. Given consensus on their accuracy and usability from a representative panel group, we anticipate that they can be used broadly across clinical and research settings.

The United States dermatology inpatient workforce between 2013 and 2019: a Medicare analysis reveals contraction of the workforce and vast access deserts-a cross-sectional analysis.

While time spent practicing inpatient dermatology has decreased since the 1990s, less is known about the current state of inpatient dermatology. We describe the distribution and frequency of inpatient dermatology encounters servicing the United States Medicare population between 2013 and 2019. Cross-sectional analysis of publicly available inpatient Medicare Part B claims data from 2013 to 2019 was conducted. Main outcomes and measures were characteristics and trends of dermatologists performing inpatient encounters. Categorical variables were compared using χ2 analysis. Trends were analyzed for linearity using Pearson correlation coefficient. 782 physicians met inclusion criteria for inclusion. Dermatologists were more often male (56.5%), possessing allopathic Medical Doctorate (MD) (86.3%), and in metropolitan settings (98.2%). However, proportion of female inpatient dermatologists increased significantly (37.9% to 46.2%). Across rural and metropolitan practices, number of inpatient physicians (2013: 356; 2019: 281) and number of medical centers in which dermatology encounters occurred (2013: 239; 2019: 157) decreased, more significantly in non-residency-associated institutions. Spatial analysis revealed wide regions lacking dermatologists meeting defined criteria. Limitations included the need for ten Medicare inpatient encounters for inclusion, counties without reported data. In conclusion, the number of dermatologists performing > 10 inpatient encounters per year is decreasing, and large variations exist in the number of U.S. inpatient dermatology visits.

Perioperative management and clinical outcomes of peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum.

Peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum is an uncommon subtype of pyoderma gangrenosum mainly affecting stoma sites of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. While surgical treatments are often used to assist healing, little is known about the relationship between surgical interventions and the rate of recurrence of peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum. The aim of this study was to identify patient and clinical factors associated with peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum recurrence following surgical intervention. A multi-institutional retrospective case series and literature review was conducted to evaluate patient characteristics and perioperative treatment. Patients of any age with peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum undergoing surgical operations related to their pyoderma gangrenosum or due to another comorbidity were included. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize demographic information. Associations were evaluated using Wilcoxon's rank-sum test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for categorical data. Thirty-seven cases were included, 78.3% of which had a history of inflammatory bowel disease. Overall, 13 (35.1%) cases experienced recurrence at 30 days. There was no significant association identified between patient demographics, stoma location, surgical intervention, or perioperative treatment with rate of recurrence at 30 days post-operation. While no clinical risk factors or treatments were associated with recurrence, our work underscores the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to this disease to address gastrointestinal, dermatologic, and surgical components of treatment.