BackgroundKeloid is a benign fibrous growth, which presents in scar tissue of predisposed individuals. It is a result of irregular wound healing, but the exact mechanism is unknown. However, several factors may play a role in keloid formation. To date, there are no studies of keloids in Syria, and limited studies on Caucasians, so we have investigated the risk factors of keloids in Syrians (Caucasians), and this is the main objective of this study.MethodsDiagnosis of keloids was clinically made after an interview and physical examination. We did a histopathological study in case the physical examination was unclear.The following information was taken for each patient; sex, Blood groups (ABO\Rh), cause of scarring, anatomical sites, age of onset, number of injured sites (single\multiple) and family history.ResultsWe have studied the clinical characteristics of 259 patients with keloids,130 (50.2 %) females and 129 (49.8 %) males. There were 209 (80.7 %) patients with keloids in a single anatomical site compared to 50 (19.3 %) patients with 130 keloids in multiple anatomical sites, 253 (97.68 %) patients with keloids caused by a single cause for each patient compared to 6 (2.32 %) patients with keloids caused by two different causes for each patient.Keloids could follow any form of skin injury, but burn was the most common (28.68 %). Also, keloids could develop at any anatomical sites, but upper limb (20 %) followed by sternum (19.17 %) was the most common. Over half of the patients developed keloids in the 11–30 age range. 19.3 % (50/259) of patients had family history, 76 % (38/50) of them had keloids located in the same anatomical sites of relative, also, 66 % (33\50) of them had keloids caused by the same cause.The following information was found to be statistically significant; people with blood group A (p = 0.01) compared with other blood groups, spontaneous keloids in patients with blood group A (p = 0.01), acne in males (p = 0.0008) compared to females, acne in someone who has a previous acne keloid (p = 0.0002), burn in someone who has a previous burn keloid (p = 0.029), family history, especially for spontaneous (p = 0.005), presternal (p = 0.039) and shoulder (p = 0.008) keloids, people in second and third decades (p = 0.02) (p = 0.01) respectively.ConclusionAge of onset, sex, cause of scarring, blood groups, anatomical site, presence of family history and the number of site (multiple\single) were significant in keloid formation in Syrians.

Background: Chronic Urticaria is one of the most therapeutic difficulties confronted by a dermatologist. Objective: The objective of this study is to estimate the efficacy of Autologous Serum Therapy (AST) in Chronic Urticaria patients and compare the efficacy of AST in each group of Autologous Serum Skin Test (ASST) positive and negative. Methods: A prospective study was conducted for the period of one year (July 2020 – July 2021) at Tishreen University Hospital. We enrolled 50 patients suffering from Chronic Urticaria. ASST was done for all patients before the treatment. We gave patients 9 injections of Autologous Serum intramuscularly once a week. The response to AST was evaluated by using Urticaria Total Severity Score (UTSS) before the treatment (0 weeks), after the treatment (9 weeks), and followed up for 3 months after the end of the treatment (21 weeks). Results: Between 50 patients, the sample was distributed equally in each group of ASST (positive and negative). 18 patients (36%) had an excellent response, 7 patients (14%) had a very good response, 11 patients (22%) had a good response, and 14 patients (28%) had no response. The treatment was effective in both ASST positive and negative groups, however, there was no significant relationship in response between the two groups. There was a significant relationship between clinical response and severity of disease p-value = 0.04, the majority of excellent response cases (88.9%) had severe disease before the treatment. Limitations: The main limitations of our study were the lack of patients and the short follow-up period (12 weeks). Conclusion: AST was effective in treating Chronic Urticaria without side effects. There was a significant response in both ASST positive and negative groups.