BackgroundPsoriasis is a chronic and inflammatory disease that impairs quality of life and causes psychological symptoms. Despite the high prevalence of psoriasis in pediatric patients, studies investigating the impact of psoriasis in the quality of life of children, adolescents and families are sparse.ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of psoriasis in the quality of life of children and adolescents with psoriasis and their families and to determine depression and anxiety levels of the patients.MethodsA total of 58 patients with psoriasis aged 7-18 years (median age: 11) and a family member of each patient were included in the study. Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI), Family Dermatology Life Quality Index (FDLQI), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) were used in the study.ResultsThe median PASI score of the patients included in the study was 1.8. The median CDLQI and FDLQI scores in the study groups were 5 and 10, respectively. The median CDI score, STAIC-state and STAIC-trait scores of the patients were 6, 28 and 32.5, respectively.Study limitationsLack of a control group and patient assessment of disease severity. Relatively mild disease severity of the subjects.ConclusionsPsoriasis has a negative impact in the quality of life of children, adolescents and their families, even in the presence of mild disease. Considering that impairment in quality of life may be associated with psychosocial morbidity, a combined approach with medical therapy, family counseling and quality of life assessment may be beneficial in this patient group.

The development of non-invasive diagnostic tools for skin cancer is an important topic for researchers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of use of an electrical imped ance spectroscopy technique in non-melanoma skin cancer. Electrical impedance spectroscopy was able to distinguish between benign and malignant skin lesions. The results of this study suggest that electrical impedance spectroscopy measurements can improve diagnostic performance with a high sensitivity in detection of non-melanoma skin cancer.Electrical impedance spectroscopy is a non-invasive technique that can help clinicians in diagnosing malignant skin tumours. Depending on the cellular irregularity of the lesion, electrical impedance spectroscopy can reveal changes in the structure and form of the cells, using a harmless electrical current applied to the skin. A score between 0 and 10 is generated by the electrical impedance spectrometer, where 0 is consider ed benign and 10 is malignant. This prospective study was conducted in 101 patients with a total of 200 skin lesions; 62 benign and 138 malignant. There was a significant difference between the electrical impedance of malignant and benign lesions (p < 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of electrical impedance spectroscopy for non-melanoma skin cancer were 94.2%, 41.9%, 78.3% and 76.5%, respectively, when the cut-off for the electrical impedance spectroscopy score was set between 5 and 6. The area under the curve in receiver operating characteristics analyses was 0.758.

Background Mucosal melanoma is a rare malignancy which represents approximately 1% of all melanomas. It is shown that mucosal melanomas have a different biology and less favourable prognosis than its cutaneous counterpart. Objectives Predictive and prognostic factors of survival for mucosal melanoma have not yet been elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors affecting the course of mucosal melanoma patients followed in our clinic. Methods One hundred and sixty‐one patients with mucosal melanoma prospectively documented in the German Central Malignant Melanoma Registry (CMMR) were included in this study. Gender, age, localization, stage at first medical examination, tumour thickness and mutational status were documented. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), 7th edition was used to define tumour stage. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were evaluated compared with the log‐rank test. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify significant independent prognostic factors. Results According to the localization, patients were categorized in 44.7% oral–nasal, 28.6% genital, 20.5% anorectal and 6.2% visceral. Genital mucosal melanomas had the most favourable 5‐year OS rate (58.6%) followed by visceral (58.3%) and oral–nasal (39.3%). Anorectal melanomas had the worst OS time (median: 21 ± 4.8 months) and 5‐year survival rate (22.7%). Patients <60 years had a better survival than the older group (P = 0.013). Tumour stage at the time of the first medical examination was also a significant factor for survival (P = 0.001). Gender and mutational status were found to have no effect on survival. Age (<60 years vs. ≥60 years; HR = 2.1) and stage at first medical examination (Stage I vs. Stage IV; HR = 8.2) are shown to be significant independent prognostic factors on multivariate Cox regression analysis, but not localization. Conclusion In this study, we observed that older age and advanced stage have significant negative effects on the survival of mucosal melanoma. Thus, the AJCC staging system is applicable for mucosal melanoma.

Background: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a common disease both in the pediatric and in the adult population. However, there are differences between the two patient populations with respect to etiological factors, comorbidities, and treatment responses. Our aim was to determine differences between pediatric and adult CSU in terms of clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters, comorbidities, response to treatment, and indicators of response.Methods: A retrospective analysis of CSU patients was performed. Data regarding differences between pediatric and adult CSU patients were analyzed. Indicators of treatment response were determined separately in both pediatric and adult patients.Results: Of 751 CSU patients (162 pediatrics and 589 adults), female dominancy (48.8% vs. 69.6%) and rate of angioedema (19.1% vs. 59.8%) were lower, and disease duration (5 months vs. 12 months) was shorter in pediatric patients. Anti-TPO positivity (24.7% vs. 9%), elevated CRP (46.5% vs. 11.1%), eosinopenia (38.5% vs. 18.1%), and skin prick test positivity (39.3% vs. 28.8%) were significantly more frequent in adult patients. Response to antihistamines was higher in the pediatric group, and only 7% used omalizumab versus 20.8% in the adults. The comparisons were also performed between <12-year and ≥12-year patients and yielded similar results. How to cite this article: Özçeker D, Can PK, Terzi Ö, et al. Differences between adult and pediatric chronic spontaneous urticaria from a cohort of 751 patients: Clinical features, associated conditions, and indicators of treatment response.