Criocirurgia com nitrogênio líquido e as dermatoses infecciosas

Actinic keratoses: review of clinical, dermoscopic, and therapeutic aspects

Actinic keratoses are dysplastic proliferations of keratinocytes with potential for malignant transformation. Clinically, actinic keratoses present as macules, papules, or hyperkeratotic plaques with an erythematous background that occur on photoexposed areas. At initial stages, they may be better identified by palpation rather than by visual inspection. They may also be pigmented and show variable degrees of infiltration; when multiple they then constitute the so-called field cancerization. Their prevalence ranges from 11% to 60% in Caucasian individuals above 40 years. Ultraviolet radiation is the main factor involved in pathogenesis, but individual factors also play a role in the predisposing to lesions appearance. Diagnosis of lesions is based on clinical and dermoscopic examination, but in some situations histopathological analysis may be necessary. The risk of transformation into squamous cell carcinoma is the major concern regarding actinic keratoses. Therapeutic modalities for actinic keratoses include topical medications, and ablative and surgical methods; the best treatment option should always be individualized according to the patient.

Refractory sporotrichosis due to Sporothrix brasiliensis in humans appears to be unrelated to in vivo resistance

Sporotrichosis is a subacute to chronic infection caused by members of the Sporothrix schenckii complex. Itraconazole is the first choice antifungal drug for treating this infection, with terbinafine and potassium iodide as alternatives and amphotericin B used in cases of severe infections. Correlation of antifungal susceptibility data with the clinical outcome of the patients is scarce. The aim of this study was to correlate clinical and mycological data in patients with refractory sporotrichosis. In this work, antifungal susceptibilities, determined according to the reference M38-A2 CLSI protocol, of 25 Sporothrix strains, isolated from seven human cases of sporotrichosis with adversities in the treatment, are presented. Tested drugs included itraconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, terbinafine, and amphotericin B. Fungi were identified using the T3B PCR fingerprinting. This method identified all strains as Sporothrix brasiliensis and also demonstrated a high degree of similarity between the strains. In general, voriconazole was ineffective against all strains, and elevated minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were observed for amphotericin B. High itraconazole and terbinafine MICs were not observed in S. brasiliensis isolates from patients of this study. Moreover, a significant increase in itraconazole and terbinafine MIC values from strains isolated from the same patient in different periods was not observed. The results suggest that the antifungal susceptibility to terbinafine and itraconazole determined by the reference method does not play an important role in therapeutic failure of sporotrichosis and that acquisition of resistance during prolonged antifungal treatment is not likely to occur in S. brasiliensis.

Cryosurgery for the treatment of cutaneous sporotrichosis in four pregnant women

Background

Pregnant women with sporotrichosis should not receive systemic antifungal therapy except in severe cases when amphotericin B is recommended. Thermotherapy is the most reported treatment described in this group of patients. It entails weeks of daily self-application of heat to the lesions, requires that the patient faithfully apply it, and it could cause skin burns. Cryosurgery is a useful therapeutic tool for many cutaneous infectious diseases, safe for pregnant women, but not well evaluated for sporotrichosis treatment in this group.

Methodology

The authors conducted a retrospective study describing epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic data related to four pregnant patients with sporotrichosis treated with cryosurgery. The authors reviewed the clinical records of four pregnant patients diagnosed with cutaneous sporotrichosis and treated with cryosurgery. The sessions were carried out monthly up to clinical cure. Molecular identification of the Sporothrix species was performed in two cases using T3B PCR fingerprinting assays.

Principal findings

All patients were in the second trimester of pregnancy and their age ranged from 18 to 34 years. With regard to clinical presentation, two patients had lymphocutaneous and two had the fixed form. S. brasiliensis was identified in two cases as the causative agent. Cryosurgery was well tolerated and the number of sessions ranged from 1 to 3. All the patients reached a complete clinical cure.

Conclusions

Cryosurgery was a safe, easy to perform and well tolerated method, and therefore it is suggested to be a suitable option for the treatment of cutaneous sporotrichosis in pregnant women.

Sporotrichosis is a cosmopolitan disease, considered the most important subcutaneous mycosis in Latin America. Since 1998, there is an ongoing cat-transmitted zoonotic epidemic of sporotrichosis occurring in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pregnant women are a vulnerable population occasionally affected that require special attention regarding sporotrichosis treatment. Antifungal drugs should be avoided because of their potential risks to the fetus, unless in severe cases when amphotericin B (an intravenous antifungal drug) can be indicated. In this context, local measures are the treatment of choice. Cryosurgery consists in local application of intense cold using liquid nitrogen to destroy some infectious, tumoral and inflammatory cutaneous diseases. It is scarcely reported in the literature for the treatment of sporotrichosis, especially in pregnant women for whom local heat is most used. This works aims to describe the clinical response and outcome of cryosurgery for the treatment of sporotrichosis in four pregnant women. All patients reached clinical cure after one to three sessions. These results suggest that cryosurgery can be a well-tolerated, safe, and efficient method for the treatment of sporotrichosis in pregnancy.

Erosive adenomatosis of the nipple

Erosive adenomatosis of the nipple is a complex benign mammary proliferation that can be misdiagnosed as a malignant mammary neoplasm. The most common clinical presentation includes discharge, erythema, erosion and crusting. The process is usually asymptomatic. It resembles benign conditions such as contact dermatitis, psoriasis and infections, but its main differential diagnosis is Paget's disease. Treatment is usually surgical and the prognosis is excellent.

Avaliação da dor em criocirurgia de ceratoses actínicas

FUNDAMENTOS: a ceratose actínica é lesão pré-maligna frequente, que ocorre em áreas expostas à luz solar, em pessoas idosas ou adultas de meia-idade e pele clara. A criocirurgia com nitrogênio líquido é a modalidade mais comum para o tratamento de ceratoses actínicas. OBJETIVOS: o objetivo primário deste estudo foi medir a intensidade da dor durante a criocirurgia, por meio da Escala Visual Análoga. Também buscou-se identificar o nível de dor considerado adequado pelo paciente, avaliar a proporção de pacientes que consideram necessária a diminuição da dor sentida e verificar a necessidade ou não de analgesia suplementar. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com pacientes encaminhados para terapêutica criocirúrgica de ceratoses actínicas no Ambulatório de Dermatologia Sanitária. Foram avaliados 112 pacientes, após tratamento de ceratoses actínicas, aplicando-se um questionário com perguntas sobre a intensidade da dor sentida durante o procedimento cirúrgico, assim como a dor considerada confortável ou adequada ao procedimento. RESULTADOS: participaram 48 homens (42,8%) e 64 mulheres (57,2%). A média da dor referida durante o procedimento cirúrgico, medida em milímetros na Escala Visual Análoga, foi de 32,85 mm; a média da dor considerada adequada pelos pacientes foi de 23,01 mm. A diferença entre as duas médias foi estatisticamente significativa (p<0,05). Em questionário objetivo e direto, a percentagem de pacientes que referiu ser necessária a diminuição da dor foi 30,4%. CONCLUSÕES: embora a dor considerada adequada seja menor estatisticamente do que a sentida, não alcança níveis suficientes para que seja atribuída a necessidade de método de analgesia suplementar neste tipo de intervenção

Chromoblastomycosis: study of 27 cases and review of medical literature

BACKGROUND

Chromoblastomycosis is a subcutaneous mycosis that occurs mainly in rural workers although is being more commonly found among people working in other sectors. The fungus penetrates the skin after its inoculation and the most frequently isolated agent is the Fonsecaea pedrosoi.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims at evaluating patients suffering from chromoblastomycosis admitted into the Department of Dermatology of the University Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine of São Paulo State during the ten-year period from 1997 to 2007.

METHODS

It is a retrospective study and the medical report cards of 27 Brazilian patients diagnosed as suffering from Chromoblastomycosis from 1997 to 2007 at the Dermatology Department of the Medical School, University of Sao Paulo were reviewed. The following items were analyzed: previous therapeutic approaches; treatment implemented by the group; length of time between the appearing of the lesion and diagnosis; age; gender; profession; origin; site of lesions; isolated agents found in culture and histopathology.

RESULTS

Twenty two patients were from the state of Sao Paulo whereas the others came from the states of Bahia and Rondonia. 37% of them were rural workers. Men were more frequently infected (85%). Lesions were more commonly found on the lower limbs (59.2%). In 52% of the cases the isolated agent was the dematiaceous fungus Fonsecaea. pedrosoi. Biopsies showed sclerotic bodies in 92.5% of the cases.

CONCLUSION

Data found are in accordance with medical literature on the subject. The disease had been previously studied in our institution in 1983 by Cucé et al. This present study is the second retrospective one about the characteristics of patients suffering from chromoblastmycosis which has been published in indexed medical literature in the state of Sao Paulo.