Exogenous ochronosis (EO) is a cutaneous disorder characterized by blue-black pigmentation resulting as a complication of long-term application of skin-lightening creams containing hydroquinone but may also occur due to topical contact with phenol or resorcinol in dark-skinned individuals. It can also occur following the use of systemic antimalarials such as quinine. EO is clinically and histologically similar to its endogenous counterpart viz., alkaptonuria, which, however, exhibits systemic effects and is an inherited disorder. Dermoscopy and in vivo skin reflectance confocal microscopy are noninvasive in vivo diagnostic tools. It is very difficult to treat EO, a cosmetically disfiguring and troubling disorder with disappointing treatment options.

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Perifollicular elastolysis, also known as papular acne scars is a common but taken for granted entity. It appears as asymptomatic whitish yellow papules on the trunk and proximal arms. Histologically there is loss of elastin around the pilosebaceous follicles. The lesions are the result of a scarring process that appear as papules and are often mistaken for papules of acne and are treated. A knowledge of this entity which has never been described before in India is being reiterated.

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Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) also called Bean's syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by multiple cutaneous venous malformations in association with visceral lesions, most commonly affecting the gastrointestinal tract. We report here, a 21-year-old woman patient, who presented with unilateral, blaschkoid distribution of cutaneous venous malformations along with blue rubber bleb nevus and recurrent episodes of hematochezia due to vascular lesions in the sigmoid colon; likely to be a case of BRBNS. The unusual unilateral, blaschkoid distribution of BRBNS prompted this present report.

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Dyschromatosis is a pigmentary genodermatosis which presents with hyper and hypopigmented skin lesions giving a mottled appearance. It is a rare entity in India reported mainly in the East Asian population. Classically, two forms have been described; dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria (DUH) and dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria. Here we report four cases of DUH and one case of dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria from India.

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Epidermal cysts represent the most common cutaneous cysts. They arise following a localized inflammation of the hair follicle and occasionally after the implantation of the epithelium, following a trauma or surgery. Conventional epidermal cysts are about 5 cm in diameter; however, rare reports of cysts more than 5 cm are reported in the literature and are referred as "Giant epidermal cysts." Epidermal cysts although common, can mimic other common benign lesions in the head and neck area. A thorough clinico-pathologic investigation is needed to diagnose these cutaneous lesions as they differ in their biologic behavior, treatment, and prognosis. We report a case of a giant epidermoid cyst in the scalp area of a young female patient which mimicked lipoma on clinical, as well as cyotological examination. We also present a brief review of epidermal cysts, their histopathological differential diagnosis, and their malignant transformation.

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Background: Dermatologic conditions have different presentation and management in pediatric age group from that in adult; this to be studied separately for statistical and population based analysis. Objective: To study the pattern of various dermatoses in infants and children in tertiary health care center in South Gujarat region. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study; various dermatoses were studied in pediatric patients up to 14 years of age attending the Dermatology OPD of New Civil Hospital, Surat, Gujarat over a period of 12 months from June 2009 to June 2010. All patients were divided into four different study groups: <1 month (neonates), 1 month to 1 year, >1 to 6 years and 7 to 14 years. Results: There were 596 boys and 425 girls in total 1021 study populations. Majority of the skin conditions in neonates were erythema toxicum neonatorum (12.97%), scabies (9.92%), mongolian spot (9.16%), and seborrheic dermatitis (7.63%). In > 1 month to 14 years age group of children among infectious disorder, children were found to be affected most by scabies (24.49%), impetigo (5.96%), pyoderma (5.62%), molluscum contagiosum (5.39%), tinea capitis (4.49%), leprosy (2.02%), and viral warts (1.35%) while among non-infectious disorders, they were affected by atopic dermatitis (4.27%), pityriasis alba (4.16%), seborrheic dermatitis (3.60%), pityriasis rosea (3.15%), others (3.01%), phrynoderma (2.70%), lichen planus (2.58%), contact dermatitis (1.57%) and ichthyosis (1.45%). Conclusion: There is a need to emphasize on training the management of common pediatric dermatoses to dermatologists, general practitioners and pediatricians for early treatment.

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Background: Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus (ILVEN) is a distinct variety of keratinocytic epidermal naevus. In contrast to non-inflammatory epidermal naevi, ILVEN are far less common, usually erythematous and intractably pruritic. ILVEN usually appears at birth or early childhood and has a linear distribution following the Blaschko lines. Genital/perigenital involvement is relatively rare. Objectives: To describe the clinical features of 9 children with ILVEN localized to the genital and perigenital areas. Method: A retrospective study of 9 children with ILVEN presenting to a tertiary care Dermatology Clinic between 2007 and 2014 was undertaken. The clinical and histopathological features were reviewed. Results: Nine children (6 females, 3 males) were included in the study based on their characteristic clinicopathological features. The lesions were associated with severe itching in all cases. The mean age at presentation was 4 years (range 1-11 years). Onset of lesions was before 6 months of age in 8 patients. Left sided involvement was twice as common as the right sided one. Male patients had penoscrotal and groin involvement while all the female children had vulvar lesions. None of the children had any extracutaneous abnormalities. The children were treated with topical agents with variable relief or symptoms. Conclusions: The possibility of ILVEN should be considered in every linear genital lesion in children. We have presented the largest series of perigenital ILVEN reported in English literature.

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Background: Erythroderma is a reaction pattern characterized by erythema and desquamation of 90% or more body surface area along with some metabolic alterations. Materials and Methods: Here we studied 32 patients of erythroderma at of North Bengal Medical College for a period of 1 year to find the etiology, clinical features and histological changes. Detailed history was taken from all the patients followed by relevant biochemical investigations and histological examination. To correlate the clinical and histopathological findings chi square test was used. Results: Male preponderance was present and most of them were in the 4 ^th or 5 ^th decade. Etiologically the patients were divided into secondary erythroderma developing over pre-existing dermatoses, and idiopathic erythroderma. Secondary erythroderma (n = 24) cases outnumbered the idiopathic cases (n = 8). Among the pre-existing dermatoses, psoriasis was found to be the most common etiologic agent. Apart from erythema the other common presenting features were scaling and itching. Histopathological categorization was possible in 59.3% cases, rest of the cases showed non-specific dermatitis. The most common histopathologic diagnosis was psoriasis (21.8% of cases). Conclusions: Our study of clinicopathological correlation of erythroderma patients among north bengal population corroborates with most of the previous studies done in other areas. As ours is a cross-sectional study in a undefined population so we could not determine the true incidence of erythroderma in north bengal population. We might have missed lymphoma as a cause of erythroderma in idiopathic cases due to lack of long follow-up, so we understand that further studies over a defined population with long follow-up is needed to determine the true incidence and causes of idiopathic erythroderma.

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Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) occurs due to a milieu of allergens and involves different anatomical sites, including eyelids, and periorbital areas. Topically applied ophthalmic drugs are a potential cause of ACD of the periorbital region. Here we describe the report of a patient who developed ACD to eye drop preparations.

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Granuloma annulare is a benign, self-limiting, inflammatory and granulomatous disease of unknown etiology occurring in both adults and children. An 18-month-old male child had multiple progressive annular plaques over the lower extremities. Clinical and histopathological features were consistent with granuloma annulare. Localized granuloma annulare is the most common form in children.We report a young child with multiple, progressive granuloma annulare over the lower extremities.

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Background: Pressure ulcers (PUs) are prevalent in hospitalized patients; they may cause clinical, psychological, and economic problems in these patients. Previous studies are cross-sectional, have used pooled data, or cox-regression models to assess the risk for developing PU. However, PU risk scores change over time and models that account for time varying variables are useful for cohort analysis of data. Aims and Objectives: The present longitudinal study was conducted to compare the risk of PU between surgical and nonsurgical patients, and to evaluate the factors associated with the development of these ulcers over a period of time. Materials and Methods: We evaluated 290 hospitalized patients over a 4 months period. The main outcomes for our analysis were: (1) Score on the pressure risk assessment scale; and (2) the proportion of individuals who were at severe risk for developing PUs. We used random effects models for longitudinal analysis of the data. Results: The mean PU score was significantly higher in the nonsurgical patients compared with surgical patients at baseline (15.23 [3.86] vs. 9.33 [4.57]; P < 0.01). About 7% of the total patients had a score of >20 at baseline and were considered as being at high-risk for PU; the proportion was significantly higher among the nonsurgical patients compared with the surgical patients (14% vs. 4%, P = 0.003). In the adjusted models, there was no difference for severe risk for PU between surgical and nonsurgical patients (odds ratios [ORs]: 0.37, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01-12.80). An additional day in the ward was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of being at high-risk for PU (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.16-1.86). Conclusion: There were no significant differences between patients who were admitted for surgery compared with those who were not. An additional day in the ward, however, is important for developing a high-risk score for PU on the monitoring scale, and these patients require active interventions.

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An 18-year-old girl presented with multiple itchy hyperpigmented papules and plaques, along with tense blisters over the lower limbs and buttocks for last 3 months. These papules, plaques, and bullae were mostly localized to preexisting scars. The histopathological findings from papule and bulla were consistent with lichen planus (LP) and bullous pemphigoid, respectively. Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) of perilesional skin around bulla showed linear deposition of IgG and C3. Considering clinical, histopathological and DIF findings, diagnosis of LP pemphigoides (LPP) was made. The preferential localization of LPP lesions over preexisting scars was a very interesting finding in our case an extremely rare instance of the isotopic phenomenon.

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Dermatitis artefacta (DA) is a self-inflicted dermatological condition where the underlying motive is to assume a sick role. The act of self-harm is to discharge the inner sense of isolation and emotional distress, which is too great to endure. We, hereby, report five interesting cases of DA with varied presentations, using diverse and innovative means for inflicting injury/injuries. Rarity may be attributed to masquerading presentation, leading to misdiagnosis and paucity of awareness among the physicians. Lack of proper identification of the underlying psychiatric disturbances may be the major cause of the loss of follow-ups. Here, we were fortunate enough to identify the emotional need of most of the patients. A flexible, nonconfrontational yet strong therapeutic rapport is required to improve the therapeutic outcomes.

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Background: Vitiligo is a progressive depigmenting disorder characterized by loss of functional melanocytes from the epidermis. The etiopathogenesis of vitiligo is still unclear. Vitamin D has stimulatory effects on melanocytes and acts through its nuclear Vitamin D receptor (VDR) on target cells. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to declare the role of Vitamin D in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. Materials and Methods: This case-control study included 30 vitiligo patients and 30 age, gender-matched healthy controls. Blood samples were withdrawn from the study subjects, and the serum 25(OH) D level was determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. Serum 25(OH) D levels were divided into: Normal or sufficient (΃30 ng/ml), insufficient (< 30-> 20 ng/ml), and deficient (ͳ20 ng/ml) levels. Skin biopsies were obtained from the depigmented lesions and clinically normal skin of vitiligo patients and from the controls, and VDR gene expression was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Only 10 patients with vitiligo (33.3%) had sufficient serum 25(OH) D levels (΃30 ng/ml), 12 patients (40%) had insufficient levels, and 8 patients (26.7%) had deficient levels. On the other hand, most of the controls (96.7%) had sufficient levels. The mean serum 25(OH) D level in patients was significantly decreased compared to controls (P < 0.001). The VDR-mRNA expression was also significantly decreased in lesional and nonlesional skin of patients compared to controls (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency influences the extent of vitiligo and could contribute to the pathogenesis of vitiligo through its immunomodulatory role and its role in melanogenesis.

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Background: Q-switched neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd: YAG) laser at a wavelength of 1064 nm primarily targets dermal melanin and black tattoo ink. Recent studies have shown that this laser is effective in treating black tattoos. There are few studies conducted in India for the same. Aim: The aim was to assess the effectiveness of Q-switched Nd: YAG laser (QSNYL) in the treatment of blue-black tattoos following 3 treatment sessions. Materials and Methods: This study, a prospective interventional study included a total of 12 blue-black tattoos. Following informed consent for the procedure, as well as for photographs, a questionnaire was administered, and improvement perceived by the patient was recorded. In addition, global assessment score (GAS) by a blinded physician was also recorded. Photographs were taken at baseline and at every follow-up. Each patient underwent three treatment sessions with 1064 nm QSNYL at 4-6 weekly intervals. Fluences ranged from 1.8 to 9 J/cm ² . The follow-up was done monthly for 4 months from the first treatment session. The response was assessed by patient assessment (PA) and GAS by comparing photographs. Results: After three treatment sessions, although no patient achieved clearance, most patients showed good response with few adverse effects. An average of 64.1% (GAS) and 54.2% (PA) improvement was observed in 12 tattoos. Tattoos more than 10-year-old showed quicker clearing than those less than 10-year-old. Amateur tattoos also showed a better response in comparison to professional tattoos. Conclusion: Totally, 1064 nm QSNYL is safe and effective for lightening blue-black tattoos in pigmented Indian skin. All patients achieved near complete clearance following the continuation of treatment (an average of six sessions) although this was spaced at longer intervals.

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Leukemia cutis (LC) is a nonspecific word used for cutaneous infiltration of leukemia, which is a rare presentation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and always a harbinger of poor prognosis. We report a case of LC in a 5-year-old boy with a past medical history of ALL (L1) presented with multiple asymptomatic oval or annular red patches and plaques on his thighs, buttocks and back waist, and part of them were scaling lesions. A biopsy was performed and histopathological examination showed that medium-sized atypical cells with round to oval contours, scant cytoplasm, and finely dispersed chromatin infiltrated into the dermis and subcutis, and the perivascular and periadnexal areas were involved. Immunophenotyping showed that the atypical cells were positive for CD45, CD3ε, CD99, and Ki67 (about 70%). Considering the patient's medical history and the histopathology, the patient was diagnosed with LC.

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Background: Dermatological conditions have an impact on psychology of the patients. There is a dearth of studies regarding this field in Rural population of India. Aims And Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the psychiatric morbidity in patients affected with Dermatological condition in a rural population and secondary objective is to assess the morbidity in dimensions of Depression Severity and the quality of life in the Emotional Sphere, Physical Symptoms, Psychosocial Functioning. Subjects And Methods: Seventy three rural patients were included in the study. PHQ9 and SKINDEX-29 was used to assess the psychiatric morbidity and quality of life. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS V 20. Chi-square test was used as a test of significance. Results: Significance has been found for duration of suffering from a dermatological condition and quality of life (p=0.03). Correlation has also been established between dermatological diagnosis with depression severity (p=0.004) or quality of life (p=0.004). In the sub scales of SKINDEX it was noted that overall dysfunction was notably more marked in Emotional Sphere and Psychosocial Functions than the Physical symptoms. Eczema was the most affected diagnosis in Skindex indicating a poor quality of life followed by psoriasis, Acne vulgaris and Seborrhoeic Dermatitis however, It was found that the majorly affected condition in depression severity was Psoriasis followed by Eczema, Acne Vulgaris and Seborrhoeic Dermatitis. Conclusion: There seems to be an increased morbidity among the rural population in depression severity and that of quality of life in terms of emotional sphere and psychosocial functioning.

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We are reporting a case of superficial spreading melanoma (SSM) on left palm of a 37-year-old pregnant housewife. She had a small acquired melanocytic nevus on her left palm since childhood, which changed its consistency and color in the last 4 months. Dermoscopy of the lesion indicated malignant changes. The lesion was managed surgically using split-thickness skin graft. The histopathology report was suggestive of SSM with positive HMB-45 cells. SSM is very rare on the acral site, and it is very difficult to differentiate it from acral lentiginous melanoma. The rarity of the site (acral nonchronic sun damage) with evolution during pregnancy and importance of management approach are reasons for publishing this case.

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Nevus sebaceus of Jadassohn is a congenital cutaneous hamartoma comprising of multiple skin structures. It has the potential to develop into variety of neoplasms of various epidermal adnexal origins. While multiple tumors may occasionally arise, it is unusual to develop two different types of tumor, benign and malignant, to arise simultaneously within a single sebaceus nevus. Here in, we report a case of a 27-year-old male with two neoplastic proliferations including a syringocystadenoma papilliferum a benign tumor and basal cell carcinoma a malignant tumor arising in a long-standing nevus sebaceus on the face. Neoplastic changes are common in nevus sebaceous present on scalp but our case is unique due to the presence of two different types of neoplasm in a nevus sebaceous which was present on face.

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Carcinoma of the cervix is the second to fourth most common malignancy in women. It metastasizes most often to the lungs, bones, and liver. Skin involvement originating from cervical cancer is rare, even in the terminal stages of the disease. Cutaneous metastasis of cervical cancer usually presents as cutaneous nodules, papules/plaques, maculopapular rash, and diffuse inflammatory rash. We report a rare case (only the second reported case to the best of our knowledge) of a 50-year-old woman with cutaneous metastasis in form of fungating ulcerative growth on mons pubis as presenting feature of carcinoma cervix.

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Diffuse neurofibroma is an unusual variant of neurofibroma with the head and neck being the common sites of involvement. It is benign in nature and spreads superficially and has many ectatic blood vessels. Histologically it is similar to conventional neurofibromas except for a few peculiar distinguishing features. We report a case of a 14-year-old boy who presented with a diffuse recurrent painless swelling over the dorsum of the nose with the clinical stigmata of neurofibromatosis. Microscopy revealed a diagnosis of diffuse neurofibroma with a few foci showing differentiation towards Meissner's type of tactile corpuscles. It is important to recognize this entity as it has a tendency to recur, yet hardly ever become malignant and is almost always associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.

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A case of lupus erythematosus (LE) panniculitis in pregnancy without any lesions of discoid LE or systemic LE is being reported. There were no systemic symptoms. Her ANA, anti-dsDNA, anti-Ro/SSA, and anti-La/SSB antibodies were within normal limits. Diagnosis of lupus panniculitis was considered on clinical and histopathological grounds. The condition responded favorably to systemic steroid therapy.

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Purpura fulminans (PF) may be the presenting symptom in a patient with protein C (PC) deficiency. It is a hematological emergency and presents with extensive areas of hemorrhagic necrosis of the skin. PC deficiency is usually genetically inherited. However, we report a 1 year and 4 months boy, who presented with acquired PC deficiency possibly of postinfectious etiology and developed PF.

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Sweet's syndrome is a well-known entity in the field of dermatology. It has presented itself in myriad forms, well-recorded in literature. Our patient presented with a sudden eruption of nontender molluscoid pseudovesicles distributed over the neck and forearms alone. A complete diagnostic work up for the same did not give any clue regarding an underlying systemic ailment, responsible for the dermatosis. This case is being presented because of this extremely rare morphology of Gomm-Button disease.

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Background: Vitiligo is the most common pigmentary skin disorder. It is a multifactorial polygenic disease with epidermal melanocyte destruction. The cytokines profile found in vitiliginous patients was not fully elucidated. Aims: We sought to assess the autoimmune nature of vitiligo by comparing plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-17, IL-23, and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-b) in adult Sudanese vitiligo patients with matched control individuals. Subjects and Methods: Case-control study was conducted in Khartoum Dermatologic Teaching Hospital, in the period between July and December 2013. The cases were 42 adult Sudanese vitiligo patients matched with 43 control individuals. The cytokines were measured in the plasma by the quantitative "sandwich" ELISA. Results: Patients showed a significant lower median (25-75 ^th inter-quartile) of TGF-β than control (0.042 [0.041-0.044] vs. 0.047 [0.042-0.049]; P ͳ 0.001). Both IL-17 and IL-23 showed no significant difference between cases and controls. IL-17 showed a significant inverse relationship when correlated with TGF-β (r = −0.24; P = 0.026) while showing direct relationship when correlated with age (r = 0.28; P = 0.009). Conclusion: The positive findings detected in this study coincide with the important immunoregulatory role of the TGF-β, and support the autoimmune nature of the disease.

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Malignant melanoma is an invasive neoplasm of the skin, whose incidence is reported to be rising among Indians. We hereby present a unique case of unilateral, multiple, asymptomatic, pigmented, nodular lesions over the lower limb; resembling vascular tumor, revealing itself as malignant melanoma only on histopathology. To the best of our knowledge, such a unique presentation of malignant melanoma has not yet been reported from the Indian subcontinent.

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Introduction : Clinical Dermatology is a visually oriented specialty, where visually oriented teaching is more important than it is in any other specialty. It is essential that students must have repeated exposure to common dermatological disorders in the limited hours of Dermatology clinical teaching. Aim: This study was conducted to assess the effect of clinical images based teaching as a supplement to the patient based clinical teaching in Dermatology, among final year MBBS students. Methods: A clinical batch comprising of 19 students was chosen for the study. Apart from the routine clinical teaching sessions, clinical images based teaching was conducted. This teaching method was evaluated using a retrospective pre-post questionnaire. Students' performance was assessed using Photo Quiz and an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Feedback about the addition of images based class was collected from students. Results: A significant improvement was observed in the self-assessment scores following images based teaching. Mean OSCE score was 6.26/10, and that of Photo Quiz was 13.6/20. Conclusion : This Images based Dermatology teaching has proven to be an excellent supplement to routine clinical cases based teaching.

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Background: Hand dermatitis is a common, chronic relapsing skin disease, resulting from a variety of causes including endogenous predisposition and environmental exposures to irritants and allergens. Physical activities have been reported to be beneficial for patients with hand dermatitis. Objectives: We aim to evaluate the association between self-reported physical activities and hand dermatitis using the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. Methods: Information regarding 2,688 participants aged 20 to 59 years from the 2003-2004 NHANES cycle were retrieved and analyzed. Diagnosis of hand dermatitis was based on standardized photographs of the hands read by two dermatologists. Physical activity during leisure time for the prior 30 days was assessed using standardized questionnaire. Based on the suggested MET scores provided for each response in the questionnaire section of the NHANES methodology, the MET scores for average level of physical activities, walking/bicycling, and performing tasks around home/yard for the past 30 days was calculated. Results: There were 42 (1.56%) diagnosed cases of active hand dermatitis among the 2,688 participants. Those who reported recent vigorous or moderate physical activities were less likely to have a diagnosis of active hand dermatitis (OR: 0.436, 95% CI: 0.200 to 0.947, P = 0.036 and OR: 0.489, 95% CI: 0.261 to 0.916, P = 0.025, respectively). This negative association remained statistically significant even after adjusting for age, gender, ethnic groups and atopic diathesis. Conclusions: Moderate and vigorous levels of physical activities appeared to be beneficial for hand dermatitis. Therefore, it is important to advise patients with active hand dermatitis to remain physically active. However, clinicians should also be cognizant of the fact that the heat and sweat generated from physical activities might also exacerbate the condition.

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Cutaneous metastasis (CM) of gastric adenocarcinoma (ADC) is rare and usually presents late in the course of the disease. We report a rare case of carcinoma en cuirasse (CEC) pattern of CM secondary to gastric malignancy in a 55-year-old male patient-the interesting part being that CM was the first-presenting sign, which on further histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation led to the diagnosis of hidden gastric carcinoma. The finding of signet ring cells (SRCs) on cutaneous biopsy further added a differential of the rare possibility of primary cutaneous tumors.

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Context: The indelible ink that's used in our elections was developed by National Physical Laboratories (NPL), Delhi in 1962, and has been used ever since. Though formulated by NPL, it is manufactured by Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd. owned by the Karnataka Government. Earlier, the ink mark was applied on the cuticle but with effect from February 01, 2006 the ink is applied on the voter's left index fingernail from the distal end proximally until the cuticle using an applicator. This idea of the ink mark applied during elections was used as a simple tool to measure the rate of nail growth in a busy outpatient department of a Tertiary Hospital in South India. Aims: To assess the feasibility of using the ink mark during elections as a method of obtaining data of nail growth across the spectrum of the entire country. Subjects and Methods: In 74 patients presenting to a hospital, the rate of nail growth was measured. The voter's mark on the left index fingernail of patients during the recent elections was used as a marker for measuring the length of the nail. Results: The average rate of nail growth was 0.113 mm/day. The rate of nail growth was found to be more in females, younger individuals, pregnancy, patients on nutritional supplementation, psoriasis. Conclusion: This study which was conducted on 74 patients using the election ink mark successfully confirmed the possibility of using it as an efficient tool in measuring the rate of nail growth. The findings revealed the slightly higher rate of nail growth as compared to a study done by Rani et al. However, the limited sample size in this study was the major limitation.

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Background: Keloids and atopic disorders share common inducing and maintaining inflammatory pathways that are characterized by T-helper cell 2 cytokines. Aims and Objectives: The objective of this study was to test for associations between keloids and atopic eczema, asthma and hay fever. Materials and Methods: This was a case-control study with 131 patients diagnosed with keloids at our dermatology outpatient clinic between 2000 and 2012. Controls were 258 partners of keloid or sarcoidosis patients. Patient who reported life time prevalences of atopic eczema, asthma and hay fever were assessed using a questionnaire based on The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) and The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC). Results: The prevalence of asthma was lower in keloid patients (19/131 vs. 20/258, P = 0.035), as was being diagnosed with asthma by a physician (18/131 vs. 19/258, P = 0.039) and using inhalators for asthma (13/131 vs. 7/258, P = 0.02). After adjusting for age and non-European descent the odds ratio for having a keloid was (adjusted OR = 4.44; 95% CI 1.59-12.40) in asthmatics using inhalators. There were no clear and consistent associations found for keloids with atopic eczema or with hay fever. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study shows that keloids may be strongly associated with atopic asthma. Atopic eczema and hay fever do not seem to be correlated with keloid. Further studies are warranted to assess the validity of atopic asthma as a risk factor for the development of keloid scars.

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Background: Allergic rhinitis and urticaria are chronic persistent allergic conditions that need proper management as they significantly reduce quality of life measures. Of the many pharmacological options of allergic rhinitis and urticaria, second-generation antihistamines are the mainstay of therapy. Aims: This review focuses on the knowledge of medical residents toward prescribing antihistamines, according to the new ARIA and GA2LEN guidelines for allergic rhinitis and urticaria, attempting to find the cause of less prescription of newer second-generation antihistamines by finding out the knowledge and attitude of the doctors prescribing them to the patients. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out among resident doctors at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Primary data from 100 resident doctors, who gave their informed consent, was collected. A prevalidated questionnaire regarding knowledge, attitude and prescribing practice of antihistamines was filled up. The data was then analyzed with suitable statistical tests. Every question was first validated using the Chi-square test, and significance was below 10% hence proving validity of the questions. Results: Out of the doctors surveyed, 82% of doctors said they prescribed second-generation antihistamines, while 18% still prescribed first-generation antihistamines. Out of the 82% that prescribed second-generation antihistamines, 8.9% also prescribed first-generation antihistamines as well. 23% of doctors surveyed had heard about the ARIA and GAL2EN guidelines and their recommendations for prescribing second-generation antihistamines over the older first-generation antihistamines, while 77% of them had not heard of these position papers. Conclusion: First-generation or classic antihistamines are still overused due to the lack of knowledge of various guidelines that have been published. The main reason for not prescribing the second-generation antihistamines was due to the increased cost per tablet compared to the more economical first-generation antihistamines.

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Background: Sirolimus has provided the option for calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-free immunosuppressive therapy in both solid organ transplant (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, long-term use of sirolimus has been reported to be associated with a high incidence of cutaneous side effects in SOT, particularly acneiform lesions. Materials and Methods: We studied the incidence of acneiform lesions and the risk factors in 41 HSCT recipients between ages 4 and 64 years, undergoing HSCT for malignant (n = 29) and non-malignant diseases (n = 12) from haploidentical family donors. Results: Seven patients developed acneiform lesions at the median of 85 days (range, 45-105 days). Acneiform lesions occurred in 6/11 patients on sirolimus and in only 1/30 patients not receiving sirolimus (P = 0.001). This was more frequent in patients with non-malignant disorders (5/12 versus 2/29, P = 0.01) and those receiving graft from female donors (7/23 versus 0/18, P = 0.01). Conclusions: Despite being frequently reported in SOT, this is the first such report in HSCT. Our study suggests that prolonged use of sirolimus might be associated with high incidence of acneiform lesions in haploidentical HSCT recipients with non-malignant diseases, particularly in those receiving graft from a female donor. We discuss the possible reasons for these findings and the putative mechanism of acneiform lesions in these patients

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Erythema multiforme is an acute muco-cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction with a variety of etiologies. It is characterized by a skin eruption, with or without oral or other mucous membrane lesions. General characteristics and treatmet have been described , but nail findings are rarely reported  Here we present a 26-year-old patient with acral erythema multiforme and erythronychia adjacent to skin lesions on the back of the hands. To our knowledge this association had not been reported before.

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