The role of Demodex folliculorum in perioral dermatitis is not satisfactory explained. Our purpose was to assess the density of D. folliculorum in perioral dermatitis and evaluate the relationship of the mite count to previous therapy with topical steroids. A standardized skin surface biopsy of the chin was performed in 82 female patients with perioral dermatitis and in 70 control female subjects. Patients who received previous topical steroid therapy had a significantly higher mite density than the patients who had received no topical steroids (p<0.001). In the latter group of patients, the mite density did not differ significantly from that of the control group (p=0.629). Mite density increased significantly with the length of treatment with topical steroids (p<0.001). Our results suggest that increased density of D. folliculorum in perioral dermatitis is a secondary phenomenon, associated with topical steroid therapy.

Background Drug survival is an important measure of successful treatment of patients with chronic diseases such as psoriasis. Therefore, the objective was to calculate drug survival and examine safety profile of biologics and immunomodulators (adalimumab, apremilast, etanercept, ixekizumab, infliximab, secukinumab, and ustekinumab) from the Slovenian National Registry of patients with moderate‐to‐severe psoriasis. Methods Data about the patients with moderate‐to‐severe plaque psoriasis treated with biologics were collected from 2005 until July 2018. Kaplan‐Meier survival curves and Cox regression were used to calculate drug survival, where ustekinumab was selected as a reference. Results Overall, 1,606 patients were analyzed within 2,241 treatment episodes; adalimumab N = 831, apremilast N = 94, etanercept N = 101, ixekizumab N = 98, infliximab N = 164, secukinumab N = 340, and ustekinumab N = 613, respectively. Loss of efficacy was the most frequent reason for treatment discontinuation (contributing to 66.1% of all discontinuations). Ustekinumab was associated with the highest drug survival, meanwhile apremilast was the drug with the lowest survival rate compared to all others. Both IL‐17 inhibitors, secukinumab and ixekizumab, showed similar survival rate. Conclusions Ustekinumab was associated with the highest drug survival and most favorable safety profile compared to other biologics. Drug survival rates can be associated with the class effect of biological targets. Highest survival rate was observed for IL‐12/23 inhibitor, followed by IL‐17 and TNF‐α inhibitors, and last by an immunomodulator such as apremilast. Adverse events occurred most frequently with TNF‐α inhibitors.

A lack of reproducible and practical methods to assess venous leg ulcer healing is a major problem encountered by investigators evaluating various treatments. We aimed to compare a new laser-based three-dimensional (3D) measuring device with computer planimetry with photography for the assessment of venous leg ulcers, and to estimate the reliability of measurements by the methods. Sixty measurements of perimeter and area of 15 venous leg ulcers, < 10 cm in diameter (eight patients; six females; mean age 71 years; range 52-90 years), were made with both methods. Two independent investigators performed the measurements at the first visit and 2-4 weeks later. The precision and accuracy of the methods were determined and compared. The accuracies for computer planimetry with photography in comparison with the laser-based 3D measuring method were 8.4% for perimeter and 16.0% for area measurements. The precisions of ulcer area and perimeter measurements did not differ significantly between the two methods (p=0.993 and 0.201, respectively). The main advantage of the laser-based measuring method is the 3D ulcer measurement with a precision of 7.5%, which also takes into account distortions created by the limb convexity. The system is accurate, inexpensive, user-friendly, and appropriate for everyday practice.

We report the results of patch tests with fragrance-mix as a part of the standard series carried out over the last 10 years (1989-1998) during routine testing of 6129 patients in our department. 5.9% of the total number of patients who were patch tested were positive to fragrance mix. The sex ratio was 2.3:1 with a female predominance. In 1989-1993, the frequency of contact sensitivity to fragrance mix was 3.9% (4.9% for females and 2.1% for males). This rate rose both in female and male patients during the observed period of time and attained 8.9% (females) and 4.1% (males) in 1994-1998; the overall frequency in 1994-98 was 7.5%. This rising trend, which was statistically significant, might be the consequence of an increased use of cosmetics and toiletries containing fragrances in our population.