Neurophysiological assessment of brachioradial pruritus patients.

BACKGROUND: Pruritus is a common complaint in dermatology. Wartenberg, in 1943, associated pruritus with neuropathy, relating it to the "posterior antebrachial cutaneous nerve neuropathy". In 1968, Waisman described patients with frequent pruritus complaints in the upper limb during the summer, which he named "brachioradial summer pruritus". Currently, this pruritus is named brachioradial pruritus (BRP). BRP is characterized by a chronic pruritus, usually localized, with a long duration, and without apparent cutaneous abnormalities. Neurological disorders both from the central and peripheral nervous systems, including multiple sclerosis, are associated with pruritus. OBJECTIVE: To investigate correlations between symptomatic dermatomes and alterations in the myotomes, as evidenced by electroneuromyography (ENMG). METHODS: Forty-six patients with BRP dermatological diagnoses were subjected to upper limb ENMG. RESULTS: Among 46 patients with C5 to C8 dermatomal pruritus, we evaluated 113 symptomatic dermatomal areas. Overall, 39 (85%) patients had radicular involvement and 28 (60%) had agreement between complaint and the ENMG findings (p=0.015). A total of 80% of the patients with complaints at C7 and 47% at C6 had radicular involvement at the same level. CONCLUSIONS: Among the patients who presented complaints, 47 and 80%, respectively, had ENMG alterations in the C6 and C7 myotomes. We conclude that peripheral nervous system involvement is associated with BRP.

Neurophysiological assessment of brachioradial pruritus patients / Avaliação neurofisiológica de pacientes com prurido braquiorradial

Abstract Background: Pruritus is a common complaint in dermatology. Wartenberg, in 1943, associated pruritus with neuropathy, relating it to the "posterior antebrachial cutaneous nerve neuropathy". In 1968, Waisman described patients with frequent pruritus complaints in the upper limb during the summer, which he named "brachioradial summer pruritus". Currently, this pruritus is named brachioradial pruritus (BRP). BRP is characterized by a chronic pruritus, usually localized, with a long duration, and without apparent cutaneous abnormalities. Neurological disorders both from the central and peripheral nervous systems, including multiple sclerosis, are associated with pruritus. Objective: To investigate correlations between symptomatic dermatomes and alterations in the myotomes, as evidenced by electroneuromyography (ENMG). Methods: Forty-six patients with BRP dermatological diagnoses were subjected to upper limb ENMG. Results: Among 46 patients with C5 to C8 dermatomal pruritus, we evaluated 113 symptomatic dermatomal areas. Overall, 39 (85%) patients had radicular involvement and 28 (60%) had agreement between complaint and the ENMG findings (p=0.015). A total of 80% of the patients with complaints at C7 and 47% at C6 had radicular involvement at the same level. Conclusions: Among the patients who presented complaints, 47 and 80%, respectively, had ENMG alterations in the C6 and C7 myotomes. We conclude that peripheral nervous system involvement is associated with BRP.

RESUMO Antecedentes: O prurido constitui queixa frequente e desafiadora na prática dermatológica. O primeiro estudo a relacionar prurido com neuropatia foi de Wartenberg, em 1943, que associou à "neuropatia do nervo cutâneo antebraquial posterior". Em 1968, Waisman descreveu pacientes com queixas recorrentes de prurido em membros superiores no verão, sendo denominado, então, "brachioradial summer pruritus". Atualmente, esse prurido é denominado como prurido braquiorradial (PBR). O PBR é caracterizado por prurido crônico, geralmente bem localizado, de longa duração e sem anormalidades cutâneas aparentes. Doenças neurológicas, tanto centrais, esclerose múltipla ou acidente vascular cerebral como do sistema nervoso periférico, estão associadas a prurido. Objetivo: Investigar os dermátomos sintomáticos pela eletroneuromiografia (ENMG). Métodos: Foram estudados 46 pacientes com diagnóstico dermatológico de PBR com a eletroneuromiografia dos membros superiores. Resultado: Foram avaliados 46 pacientes com queixa dermatológica de C5 a C8 somando 113 áreas dermatoméricas sintomáticas. Observou-se que 39 (85%) pacientes apresentavam comprometimento radicular, sendo que em 28 (60%) houve concordância plena entre as queixas e os achados da ENMG (p=0,015), e que 80% dos pacientes com queixa em território de C7 e 47% em C6 apresentavam comprometimento radicular no mesmo nível. Conclusões: As queixas mais frequentes foram as correspondentes aos territórios de C6 e C7, sendo que 47 e 80%, respectivamente, apresentaram alteração na ENMG nesses miótomos. Dessa forma, evidenciou-se correlação entre comprometimento do sistema nervoso periférico (i.e., radicular) com PBR.

Hidradenitis suppurativa: epidemiological study of cases diagnosed at a dermatological reference center in the city of Bauru, in the Brazilian southeast State of São Paulo, between 2005 and 2015.

BACKGROUND:: Hidradenitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the hair follicles. A treatment is necessary due to chronicity and psychological changes that patient present. OBJECTIVE:: To investigate epidemiological aspects and elaborate a risk group profile, promote early diagnosis and contribute to the knowledge about the disease. METHODS:: This cross-sectional descriptive study with retrospective analysis of medical records of 194 patients diagnosed with hidrosadenitis in a dermatological reference center in the city of Bauru (SP) between 2005 and 2015. RESULTS:: Females accounted for 74% of cases. The age at diagnosis ranged from 10 to 67 years and the majority was within the 3rd and 4th decade of life. It occurred Association with diabetes mellitus in 33%, obesity in 55% and smoking in 61% was observed. Mean time between the onset of the disease and diagnosis was nine years. Hurley stage II was the most common at diagnosis. The therapeutic option mostly used in Hurley I and II was systemic antibiotics and in Hurley III was surgery. STUDY LIMITATIONS:: the main limitation of this study is its retrospective design, which does not allow the true clinical confirmation of the disease by investigators. CONCLUSION:: we outlined the following profile: women, caucasian, between 3rd and 4th decade of life, associated with obesity, smoking, late diagnosis and multiple potential therapeutic modalities. We highlight the importance of studies like this in order to identify risk groups and encourage early diagnosis.

Impact of drug therapy on brachioradial pruritus.

Few studies have described therapeutic options in brachioradial pruritus. We describe a cross-sectional study of brachioradial pruritus patients treated in an outpatient unit. We reviewed medical records and interviewed brachioradial pruritus patients without indication for decompressive surgery, in order to access the perceptions of intensity of pruritus prior to treatment and response to therapy. We found that antidepressants and anticonvulsants were the most frequently prescribed drugs. Best reductions in pruritus were associated with its highest intensities prior to treatment, and with longer periods of therapy.

Impact of drug therapy on brachioradial pruritus

Abstract: Few studies have described therapeutic options in brachioradial pruritus. We describe a cross-sectional study of brachioradial pruritus patients treated in an outpatient unit. We reviewed medical records and interviewed brachioradial pruritus patients without indication for decompressive surgery, in order to access the perceptions of intensity of pruritus prior to treatment and response to therapy. We found that antidepressants and anticonvulsants were the most frequently prescribed drugs. Best reductions in pruritus were associated with its highest intensities prior to treatment, and with longer periods of therapy.

Hidradenitis suppurativa: epidemiological study of cases diagnosed at a dermatological reference center in the city of Bauru, in the Brazilian southeast State of São Paulo, between 2005 and 2015

Abstract: Background: Hidradenitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the hair follicles. A treatment is necessary due to chronicity and psychological changes that patient present. Objective: To investigate epidemiological aspects and elaborate a risk group profile, promote early diagnosis and contribute to the knowledge about the disease. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study with retrospective analysis of medical records of 194 patients diagnosed with hidrosadenitis in a dermatological reference center in the city of Bauru (SP) between 2005 and 2015. Results: Females accounted for 74% of cases. The age at diagnosis ranged from 10 to 67 years and the majority was within the 3rd and 4th decade of life. It occurred Association with diabetes mellitus in 33%, obesity in 55% and smoking in 61% was observed. Mean time between the onset of the disease and diagnosis was nine years. Hurley stage II was the most common at diagnosis. The therapeutic option mostly used in Hurley I and II was systemic antibiotics and in Hurley III was surgery. Study limitations: the main limitation of this study is its retrospective design, which does not allow the true clinical confirmation of the disease by investigators. Conclusion: we outlined the following profile: women, caucasian, between 3rd and 4th decade of life, associated with obesity, smoking, late diagnosis and multiple potential therapeutic modalities. We highlight the importance of studies like this in order to identify risk groups and encourage early diagnosis.

Trichotillomania: a case report with clinical and dermatoscopic differential diagnosis with alopecia areata.

Trichotillomania is a psychodermatologic disorder characterized by uncontrollable urge to pull one's own hair. Differential diagnoses include the most common forms of alopecia such as alopecia areata. It is usually associated with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Trichotillomania treatment standardization is a gap in the medical literature. Recent studies demonstrated the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (a glutamate modulator) for the treatment of the disease. We report the clinical case of a 12-year-old female patient who received the initial diagnosis of alopecia areata, but presented with clinical and dermoscopic features of trichotillomania. She was treated with the combination of psychotropic drugs and N-acetylcysteine with good clinical response. Due to the chronic and recurring nature of trichotillomania, more studies need to be conducted for the establishment of a formal treatment algorithm.

Trichotillomania: a case report with clinical and dermatoscopic differential diagnosis with alopecia areata

ABSTRACT Trichotillomania is a psychodermatologic disorder characterized by uncontrollable urge to pull one's own hair. Differential diagnoses include the most common forms of alopecia such as alopecia areata. It is usually associated with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Trichotillomania treatment standardization is a gap in the medical literature. Recent studies demonstrated the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (a glutamate modulator) for the treatment of the disease. We report the clinical case of a 12-year-old female patient who received the initial diagnosis of alopecia areata, but presented with clinical and dermoscopic features of trichotillomania. She was treated with the combination of psychotropic drugs and N-acetylcysteine with good clinical response. Due to the chronic and recurring nature of trichotillomania, more studies need to be conducted for the establishment of a formal treatment algorithm.

Acrokeratosis verruciformis of Hopf - Case report.

A 54 year-old woman with a 3-year history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) consulted us because of weight loss, fever and skin eruption. On physical examination, erythematous plaques with a pseudo-vesicular appearance were seen on the back of both shoulders. Histological examination was consistent with rheumatoid neutrophilic dermatosis (RND). After three days of prednisone treatment, the skin eruption resolved. RND is a rare cutaneous manifestation of seropositive RA, characterized by asymptomatic, symmetrical erythematous plaques with a pseudo-vesicular appearance. Histology characteristically reveals a dense, neutrophilic infiltrate with leucocitoclasis but without other signs of vasculitis. Lesions may resolve spontaneously or with RA treatment. This case illustrates an uncommon skin manifestation of active rheumatoid arthritis.

Ofuji disease: a rare dermatosis and its challenging therapeutic approach.

Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF) or Ofuji disease is a rare dermatosis, prone to recurrence and chronicity. The peak incidence occurs in the third decade of life and its exact etiology remains unknown. Evidence suggests that the expression of adhesion molecules and the production of cytokines activate the follicular unit, but the stimulus that triggers these changes remains unclear. The three clinical variants reported in the literature include classic EPF, immunosuppression-associated EPF, and infancy-associated EPF. We report a case of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis with peculiar epidemiological characteristics, which represents a challenging therapeutic scenario.

Ofuji disease: a rare dermatosis and its challenging therapeutic approach

Abstract: Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF) or Ofuji disease is a rare dermatosis, prone to recurrence and chronicity. The peak incidence occurs in the third decade of life and its exact etiology remains unknown. Evidence suggests that the expression of adhesion molecules and the production of cytokines activate the follicular unit, but the stimulus that triggers these changes remains unclear. The three clinical variants reported in the literature include classic EPF, immunosuppression-associated EPF, and infancy-associated EPF. We report a case of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis with peculiar epidemiological characteristics, which represents a challenging therapeutic scenario.

Acrokeratosis verruciformis of Hopf - Case report

Abstract: A 54 year-old woman with a 3-year history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) consulted us because of weight loss, fever and skin eruption. On physical examination, erythematous plaques with a pseudo-vesicular appearance were seen on the back of both shoulders. Histological examination was consistent with rheumatoid neutrophilic dermatosis (RND). After three days of prednisone treatment, the skin eruption resolved. RND is a rare cutaneous manifestation of seropositive RA, characterized by asymptomatic, symmetrical erythematous plaques with a pseudo-vesicular appearance. Histology characteristically reveals a dense, neutrophilic infiltrate with leucocitoclasis but without other signs of vasculitis. Lesions may resolve spontaneously or with RA treatment. This case illustrates an uncommon skin manifestation of active rheumatoid arthritis.

Clinical, epidemiological and therapeutic profile of patients with brachioradial pruritus in a reference service in dermatology.

This is a cross-sectional study, conducted from May to November/2014, in a dermatology reference unit, through review of medical records and interviews. In a sample of 49 patients with brachioradial pruritus, we observed higher prevalence of Caucasian (81.6%) and women (73.5 %), with a mean age of 56.1 years. Pruritus occurred in the topography of brachioradialis muscle in 87.8% of cases; 59.2% of the sample reported worsening of pruritus with sun exposure; the mean intensity of this symptom before treatment was 8.63. Therapy effectiveness was described as "very good/good" in 79.2% of cases, and for 55.3% relapses were categorized as "uncommon".

Perfil clínico e epidemiológico do vitiligo infantil: análise de 113 casos diagnosticados em um centro de referência em dermatologia de 2004 a 2014 / Clinical and epidemiological profile of childhood vitiligo: analysis of 113 cases diagnosed at a dermatology referral center from 2004 to 2014

Introdução: O vitiligo é forma adquirida autoimune de hipopigmentação ou despigmentação, iniciando-se na infância metade de seus casos. Objetivos: Traçar o perfil clínico e epidemiológico do vitiligo infantil em um centro de referência em dermatologia. Métodos: Estudo transversal e descritivo com análise dos prontuários de pacientes com menos de 13 anos diagnosticados como portadores de vitiligo entre 2004 e 2014. Resultados: Dos 113 casos identificados, 54% eram do sexo feminino e 46% do sexo masculino; a idade variou de zero a 12 anos com a maioria dos pacientes (54,8%) no subgrupo de quatro a oito anos. Em 59% dos prontuários não havia registro sobre fatores desencadeantes do vitiligo; 31% dos pacientes associaram o início da doença a estresse emocional, 3% a trauma físico, e 7% não associaram a fator desencadeante. Conclusões: A discreta prevalência no sexo feminino também foi descrita em outros estudos. O comportamento do vitiligo na criança é diferente daquele observado nos adultos. A influência dos fatores psicológicos como desencadeantes e os potenciais efeitos duradouros na autoestima devem ser levados em consideração na abordagem do paciente. Os resultados deste trabalho foram semelhantes aos relatos existentes sobre o vitiligo nessa faixa etária, que são, aliás, poucos na literatura

Introduction: Vitiligo is an acquired autoimmune form of hypopigmentation or depigmentation in which half of the cases begins in childhood. Objectives: To describe the clinical and epidemiological profile of childhood vitiligo in a referral center for dermatology. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out based on the analysis of medical records of patients younger than 13 years diagnosed with vitiligo from 2004 to 2014. Results: Of the 113 cases identified, 54% were female and 46% male, the age ranged from 0 to 12 years, with most patients in the 4-8 years-old subgroup (54.8%). In 59% of the medical records there was no record of triggering factors of vitiligo; 31% of patients associated the onset of the illness to emotional stress, 3% to physical trauma and 7% did not associate it to any triggering factor. Conclusions: The discreet prevalence in women has also been reported in other studies. Vitiligo behavior in children is different from that observed in adults. The influence of psychological factors as triggers and potential lasting effects on self-esteem should be considered in the approach of the patient. Although studies on vitiligo in this age group are scarce in the literature, the results of the present study were similar to the reports already available in the literature

Lesão vegetante em septo nasal como primeira manifestação clínica de hanseníase / Vegetative lesion in the nasal septum as the first clinical manifestation of Hansen´s disease

Apresentamos um caso de paciente com sintomas de obstrução nasal e coriza, tendo como primeira manifestação de hanseníase dimorfa virchoviana uma única lesão vegetante no septo nasal, caso excepcionalmente raro como primeira manifestação de doença. A forma dimorfa é instável e pode evoluir para virchoviana ou tuberculoide. A hanseníase virchoviana tem maior número de bacilos e é caracterizada por múltiplas máculas eritematosas, pápulas, nódulos e placas. As lesões são disseminadas e preferencialmente com distribuição simétrica...

Brachioradial pruritus -- descriptive analysis of Brazilian case series.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology and clinical features of brachioradial pruritus are variably described in the literature. We sought to analyze these features in a large group of Brazilian patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a descriptive, observational study, we identified all patients with a final diagnosis of brachioradial pruritus seen over a one-year period and re-trospectively reviewed their records. The diagnosis was made after clinical-laboratory investigation had ruled out other causes of chronic pruritus. Demographic and clinical variables were collected along with pruritus characteristics, and analyzed using des-criptive statistics. RESULTS: Forty-three patients were identified; their mean age was 55.9 years, with predominance of women (81.4%) and Caucasians (86%). In 52%, the pruritus worsened with heat and sun exposure; 58.1% had intermittent complaints; the ice-pack sign was present only in 20.9%. The arms involving dermatomes C5-C6-C7-C8 (62.8%) were the most affected sites, while psychoactive drugs were the most frequently prescribed therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Although uncommon, brachioradial pruritus should not be neglected in dermatological diagnosis. This case series analysis indicated that Brazilian patients from a tropical climate show characteristics similar to those described in other series from more temperate regions.