Nail Psoriasis: A Systematic Evaluation in 313 Children with Psoriasis.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Little information is available on the prevalence and clinical aspects of nail involvement in children with psoriasis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical aspects of and the risk factors for nail involvement in French children with psoriasis. METHODS: We performed a multicenter, cross-sectional study in 23 French dermatology centers. All children seen during the 1-year study were systematically included. Clinical features of the nails were collected. Association with clinical aspects of the disease and comorbidities were evaluated. RESULTS: Of 313 children with psoriasis (mean age 9.1 ± 4.2 yrs; 149 boys, 164 girls), 31.1% had familial psoriasis and 30% had severe psoriasis. The mean age at onset was 6.1 ± 3.7 years. Nails were involved in 32.3% of children. The main clinical aspects were pitting (69.1%) for fingernails and onycholysis (40.0%) and pachyonychia (27.5%) for toenails. All of the fingers were involved at similar frequencies, whereas the big toe was involved twice as often as the others (p < 0.005). Nail involvement was associated with male sex (p < 0.001), palmoplantar psoriatic (p < 0.001), severity of disease (p = 0.003), and psoriatic arthritis (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of nail involvement was 32.3% in children with psoriasis. Clinical aspects in children are reported, as well as clinical associations. As in adults, nail psoriasis is closely associated with psoriatic arthritis.

Prognostic factors of paraneoplastic pemphigus.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the prognostic factors of overall survival in a series of patients with paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP). DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Twenty-seven dermatology departments in France. PATIENTS: A total of 53 patients (31 men and 22 women; median age, 59 years; age range, 30-88 years) were diagnosed as having PNP between 1992 and 2010. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overall Kaplan-Meier survival rates were estimated, and features associated with survival were assessed using univariate (log-rank test) and multivariate (Cox regression) analyses. RESULTS: The study included 53 patients with PNP. Thirty-six patients (68%) died during the study. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 49%, 41%, and 38%, respectively. The main causes of death were infections (n=21) and evolution of neoplasia (n=6). In univariate analysis, the main detrimental prognostic factors identified were erythema multiforme­like skin lesions (P=.05) and histologic keratinocyte necrosis (P=.03). None of the 5 patients with Castleman disease died during the study. After adjustment for age and sex in multivariate analysis, erythema multiforme­like skin lesions remained predictive of fatal outcome, with a 2-fold increase in death rate (hazard ratio [HR], 2.3; 95% CI, 1.05-5.03; P=.04). The prognosis of patients with PNP was even poorer when erythema multiforme­like skin lesions were associated with severe skin or mucosal involvement at presentation (HR of death, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.01-8.92; P=.049). CONCLUSION: Patients with PNP with erythema multiforme­like skin lesions and histologic keratinocyte necrosis, especially when associated with extensive lesions at presentation, are likely to have a more severe and rapid fatal outcome and should be managed very carefully.

Corticosteroid treatment for melanoma-associated retinopathy: effect on visual acuity and electrophysiologic findings.

BACKGROUND: Visual disturbance in the course of melanoma is rare. Specific localized metastases and drug toxic effects are frequently the cause. Recognition of a retinopathy raises several questions when the diagnosis of melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR) can be confirmed. Descriptions of such patients in dermatologic literature are rare and deserve attention because therapeutic decisions are mandatory. OBSERVATIONS: A 70-year-old woman had a first melanoma in 1985 and a second primary melanoma in 1994. Axillary lymph node involvement occurred in November 2000, leading to surgery and chemotherapy. In December 2001, she had sudden bilateral visual loss, with shimmering blobs of color and flickering photopsias. Computed tomography and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging ruled out localized tumor on the eyes or optic nerves or evolution of disease. Ophthalmologic examination revealed a bilateral posterior uveitis, with hyalitis and progressive destruction of retinal pigment. The electrophysiologic data confirmed the diagnosis of MAR. Symptoms improved after systemic corticosteroid therapy, with no relapse after tapering doses despite worsening of melanoma. CONCLUSIONS: As a rare paraneoplastic visual syndrome possibly leading to blindness, MAR is characterized by bipolar cell involvement without photoreceptor cell impairment. Also, MAR is linked to the presence of autoantibodies directed against melanoma antigens that cross-react with the rod bipolar cells of the retina. Corticosteroid therapy is rarely beneficial. Our case of MAR is noteworthy because it involved a woman, was associated with an uveitis, and improved with corticosteroid therapy.

Eosinophilic leukemia associated with t(2;5)(p23;q31).

Chromosomal aberrations have been reported in most malignant hematopoietic disorders such as acute or chronic myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoid leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndromes. Eosinophilic leukemia is a rare hematologic malignancy difficult to distinguish from other forms of idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome, so that the diagnosis is often made by exclusion, unless cytogenetic abnormalities can be demonstrated in bone marrow cells. We describe a patient with eosinophilic leukemia whose cytogenetic study shows a t(2;5)(p23;q31). Initial data could suggest a clonal eosinophilia, with an hepatosplenomegaly, severe pancytopenia, and a high level of blood and medullar eosinophilia.