We present two cases of lichen amyloidosus treated with retinoids. A 57-year-old Vietnamese woman has had extensive generalized recalcitrant lichen amyloidosus for 23 years. Treatment with oral etretinate (25 mg/day) for 3 years, and later oral acitretin (10 mg/day) for the past 10 years, has controlled the pruritus and flattened the hyperkeratotic papules. Whenever the acitretin was ceased her symptoms flared within weeks. On each occasion reintroduction of acitretin was effective within 1-2 months. The second case is that of a 51-year-old Australian Aboriginal woman who had a 2-year history of lichen amyloidosus affecting her lower legs. A 2-month course of oral acitretin (25 mg b.d.) produced a marked improvement in both the pruritus and hyperkeratotic papules. She was then lost to follow up for 2 years, during which time her symptoms recurred.

A case of primary cutaneous nocardiosis due to Nocardia asteroides occurring in a steroid-dependent asthmatic with no history of trauma is presented. He had a 5 month history of painful nodules on his right shin and calf. He was initially treated with a 6 week course of oral cephalexin 500 mg four times daily, followed by a 2 week course of minocycline 100 mg twice daily with worsening of the infection. A 12 week course of oral clarithromycin 500 mg twice daily led to complete resolution. A discussion of the problems associated with antimicrobial susceptibility testing and nocardia resistance is presented.

Congenital letikaemia is a rare condition hut is often characterized hy multiple cutaneous sf

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