Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that predominantly affects children. However, it can persist in adulthood and/or start at older ages. Due to its chronic nature and frequently occurring relapses, AD has a substantial effect on patients' quality of life, often requiring long-term systemic treatment, especially in adult patients, who are more frequently refractory to adequate topical treatment with mid- to high-potent corticosteroids and/or calcineurin inhibitors. Therefore, treatment with systemic therapies is often needed to take control of the disease, prevent exacerbations and improve quality of life. However, data regarding systemic treatment effectiveness and long-term safety in adult patients with AD are insufficient. Indeed, standardized international guidelines are lacking, and the treatment approach widely differs among diverse countries. This review focuses on the use of systemic treatments in adult AD patients analyzing published literature.
Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory skin disease, affecting 1–3% of the white population. Although the existence of two psoriasis incidence peaks has been suggested (one in adolescence before 20 years of age and another in adulthood), its onset may occur at any age, including childhood and adolescence, in which the incidence is now estimated at 40.8 per 100,000. As for adult psoriasis, pediatric psoriasis has recently been associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, increased waist circumference percentiles and metabolic laboratory abnormalities, warranting early monitoring and lifestyle modifications. In addition, due to psoriasis' chronic nature and frequently occurring relapses, psoriatic patients tend to have an impaired quality of life, often requiring long-term treatment. Therefore, education of both pediatric patients and their parents is essential to successful and safe disease management. Given the lack of officially approved therapies, the very limited evidence-based data from randomized controlled trials, and the absence of standardized guidelines, to date, pediatric psoriasis treatment is primarily based on published case reports, case series, guidelines for adult psoriasis, expert opinions and experience with these drugs in other pediatric disorders coming from the disciplines of rheumatology, gastroenterology and oncology. This review focuses on the use of systemic treatments in pediatric psoriasis and their specific features, analyzing the few literature evidences available, expanding the treatment repertoire and guiding dermatologists in better managing of recalcitrant pediatric psoriasis.
Acute localized exanthematous pustulosis (ALEP) is a localized form of acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, characterized by acute onset of multiple nonfollicular, pinhead-sized, sterile pustules following drug administration. Antibiotics, especially β-lactams and macrolides, have been implicated in the majority of cases, although eruption after nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and many other medications has also been reported. Skin reaction arises quickly within a few hours, resolving rapidly within a few days without treatment, and it is usually accompanied by fever and neutrophilic leukocytosis. We report herein all cases of ALEP described in literature, adding the case of a 35-year-old woman admitted to our hospital with outbreak of erythematous pustules on her face, neck, and chest after amoxicillin–clavulanic acid treatment.
Background
COVID‐19 is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. COVID‐19 outbreak, which caused thousands of deaths, has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020.
Aim
Skin manifestations related to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection can be divided mainly into five groups: chilblainlike lesions (CBLLs), maculopapular eruptions, urticarial eruptions, vesicular eruptions, and livedo or necrosis. Other skin findings reported are erythema multiforme (EM)‐like lesions and skin findings associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS‐C) and rarely with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS‐A). Other manifestations such as pityriasis rosea or shingles are also reported.
Methods
A total of 60 articles including reviews, studies and case reports were selected for the evaluation in this review.
Results
The skin manifestations associated with COVID‐19 infection are numerous and can vary widely. The major dermatological patterns of COVID‐19 can be classified as inflammatory reactions (maculopapular/morbilliform, urticarial and vesicular rashes), or lesions of vascular origin (chilblain like rashes, petechiae/purpura, and livedo acemose‐like pattern)
Conclusion
We believe that the dermatologist could play an important role in the response to the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic through early recognition of skin lesions suggestive of COVID‐19, particularly in paucisymptomatic infections where this recognition could direct toward an early diagnosis of infection that certainly leads to a better prognosis.
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but highly aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer whose incidence has almost doubled in recent decades. Risk factors for MCC include age > 65 years, immunosuppression, sun exposure and infection by Merkel cell polyomavirus. MCC usually presents as rapidly growing, firm, red to violaceous nodule localized on the sun-exposed skin. Surgery followed by radiation therapy is considered to be the first-line treatment for primary or loco-regional MCC in order to prevent recurrences and lymph node metastasis, while chemotherapy has always been used to treat advanced forms. However, responses to chemotherapy are mostly of short duration, and the associated clinical benefit on overall survival is still unclear. The use of checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) has shown good results in the treatment of advanced MCC and, consequently, CPIs are considered emerging immunotherapeutic options for these patients, although there are still no standardized treatments for patients with metastatic disease. Here we present a complete overview of the different possibilities for the treatment of MCC according to the stage of the disease, focusing on the emerging immunotherapies used for treating advanced MCC.
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