Cutaneous leishmaniasis treated with itraconazole.

Leishmaniasis is a human disease produced by a parasite of the Leishmania genus transmitted by prick of an infected female sandfly. The disease occurs clinically with either cutaneous, mucocutaneous or visceral form, depending on the infective species and the immune status of the patient. Antimonial drugs are the current treatment of choice for all clinical forms. We report a case of cutaneous Leishmaniasis in a young girl successfully treated with itraconazole.

Tinea capitis mimicking tufted hair folliculitis.

We report a case of tinea capitis mimicking tufted hair folliculitis in a 56-year-old European man, who presented with a 4-year history of pain and erythema in an area of scarring alopecia of the occipital scalp, with scales and tufts of hair emerging from individual follicles. Histological examination showed hair plugging, and a dense perifollicular infiltrate of plasma cells, lymphocytes, and neutrophils. There was widespread scarring and fibrosis. Bacterial cultures were negative for Staphylococcus aureus, but fungal cultures and periodic-acid-Schiff stain were positive for Trichophyton tonsurans. Videodermatoscopy of the lesion showed a pattern consistent with folliculitis decalvans. Diagnosis was made on the basis of the clinical, histological, microbiological and videodermatoscopy data. After 30 days of systemic antifungal treatment, there were a substantial clinical improvement and disappearance of pain. After 5 months, a residual cicatricial area was seen with some hair tufts emerging from a single orifice.

Cefuroxime-induced pemphigus erythematosus in a young boy.

Pemphigus erythematosus (Senear-Usher syndrome) is a variant of superficial pemphigus with features of both lupus erythematosus and pemphigus. It affects mainly middle-aged adults, and is rarely observed before the age of 20 years. The case of a 14-year-old boy who showed cutaneous lesions suggestive for pemphigus erythematosus is described. Not all laboratory and histopathological investigations confirmed the hypothesis, so a diagnosis of clinical pemphigus erythematosus was made. Systemic steroid therapy was effective in controlling the disease. This case is interesting because of the rare occurrence of pemphigus erythematosus in adolescence and the possibility of another drug being added to the list of pemphigus inducers.