Core Content for Undergraduate Medical Education in Spain: Recommendations of the Instructors' Group of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV).

BACKGROUND: Skin problems are among the most frequent reasons for seeking medical attention in primary care. In recent years, as a result of the process of adapting medical curricula to the requirements of the European Higher Education Area, the amount of time students spend learning the concepts of dermatology has been reduced in many universities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In order to reach a consensus on core content for undergraduate education in dermatology, we sent a survey to the 57 members of the instructors' group of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV), asking their opinions on what objectives should be set for a dermatology course in Spain. A total of 131 previously selected objectives were listed. We then applied the Delphi method to achieve consensus on which ones the respondents considered important or very important (score≥4 on a Likert scale). RESULTS: Nineteen responses (33%) were received. On the second round of the Delphi process, 68 objectives achieved average scores of at least 4. The respondents emphasized that graduates should understand the structure and functions of the skin and know about bacterial, viral, and fungal skin infections, the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and the 4 main inflammatory dermatoses. Students should also learn about common complaints, such as itching and bald patches; the management of dermatologic emergencies; purpura and erythema nodosum as signs of internal disease; and the prevention of STDs and skin cancer. During clinical clerkships students should acquire the communication skills they will need to interview patients, write up a patient's medical history, and refer the patient to a specialist. CONCLUSIONS: The AEDV's group of instructors have defined their recommendations on the core content that medical faculties should adopt for the undergraduate subject of dermatology in Spain.

Detection of human papilloma virus in normal skin and in superficial and nodular basal cell carcinomas in immunocompetent subjects.

BACKGROUND: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is increasingly recognized as an important human carcinogen but its role in the aetiopathogenesis of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in immunocompetent individuals is unclear. OBJECTIVE: A prospective case-control study was designed to compare the prevalence of HPV in BCC and normal skin samples from immunocompetent subjects and to assess the influence of different clinical features on the risk of cutaneous HPV. METHODS: A total of 142 samples from 70 BCC cases (superficial BCC 38 and nodular BCC 32) and 72 controls were analysed by a degenerated nested PCR technique. Clinical data were recorded and risk factors for HPV infection were assessed by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: There were 31 HPV DNA-positive samples. HPV was detected more frequently in cases (25.7%) than in controls (18.1%) and in nodular (31.3%) than in superficial (21.1%) BCC lesions but differences were not statistically significant. Older age (OR 1.5; 95% CI: 1.02-1.09) and actinic keratosis (OR 2.62; 95% CI 1.15-5.96) were the only significant factors associated to the presence of HPV. Risk of HPV positivity was also higher in blond-haired subjects, fair/pale skin colour, history of sunburn, solar lentigines and seborrheic keratosis but the differences were not significant. Both in cases and controls, ß -types were the most frequent. CONCLUSIONS: HPV does not seem to play a fundamental role in the aetiopathogenesis of either nodular or superficial BCC. The presence of HPV appears to be more related to actinic damage and possibly to an alteration of the barrier function associated with ageing.

Dermatitis de contacto por calzado unilateral / Unilateral contact dermatitis caused by footwear

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[Neutrophilic dermatosis of the dorsal hands]. / Dermatosis neutrofílica del dorso de manos.

Neutrophilic dermatosis of the dorsal hands is a recently described disorder. It is still debatable if it constitutes a separate entity, a variant of Sweet syndrome or pyoderma gangrenosum or an overlap disorder of both. We report the clinical features, histopathological findings, and evolution of a 35-year-old patient with the diagnosis of neutrophilic dermatosis of the dorsal hands and distant lesions on the forehead.

Adverse reactions to injectable aesthetic microimplants.

New inert materials such as polymerized silicones, Bioplastique, Artecoll, and Dermalive are now being used as injectable aesthetic microimplants. These substances are better than the old ones because they tend not to migrate and do not usually produce much of a host immune response. Adverse reactions after injection of these materials are rare, although there are a few reported cases as a result of bad technique or anomalous granulomatous reactions. We report on four patients with unsightly results after cosmetic microimplants, including one of Artecoll, one of Dermalive (to the best of our knowledge, the latter is the first such case reported), and two of silicone. This report describes the histopathologic features of cutaneous reactions to these injectable aesthetic materials.

Subcutaneous nodules following treatment with aluminium-containing allergen extracts.

We describe two patients who developed multiple itching nodules following immunization with vaccines adsorbed on aluminium hydroxide. Both patients had been treated with vaccines for extrinsic asthma and rhinitis for 4 and 10 years respectively. The lesions were persistent and lasted for several years. Histopathological findings were those of a foreign body reaction. Aluminium was most probably involved in the pathogenesis of these lesions because its presence could be demonstrated in macrophages using energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. Although some symptomatic relief was achieved with topical corticosteroids and oral antihistamines, treatment was unsuccessful.

Lipoatrophia semicircularis--a traumatic panniculitis: report of seven cases and review of the literature.

Lipoatrophia semicircularis is an apparently rare condition, which presents as semicircular band-like atrophy of the subcutaneous fatty tissue and involving half the circumference of the anterolateral aspects of the thighs. Repeated external microtraumatism seems to be the most plausible explanation in several cases in the literature, though in some patients the underlying traumatic mechanism is difficult to establish. No relation to underlying clinical or biologic abnormalities appears to be. Seven patients with lipoatrophia semicircularis are described. A detailed clinical history revealed precipitating trauma in all cases. A review is made of earlier reports in the literature.

A new method for quantifying the cognitive impairment. Its application in patients with vascular dementia.

Seven-three patients diagnosed with vascular dementia (VD) left to their natural evolution have been observed during a period of time of one year. The objective of this study is to find an index to quantify the degree of loss of cognitive capabilities in patients affected by VD, as well as to define the minimum loss of punctuation in this index, that can only be caused by an unfavourable evolution of the disease. This index, which we call Percentual Variation Index (PVI), is based on the evolution of the punctuations of the Cognoscitive Mini-Exam (CME) after a follow-up of one year. Our definition states that in order to consider patients as having cognitive impairment of vascular origin, they must lose more than 10% of their basal CME score in one year. This method could be useful in assessing the therapeutic efficacy of drugs used in treating such illnesses.