Dermatologic clinics
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Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) together with dermoscopy enables improved differentiation of melanomas from most nevi. The resulting high sensitivity for detecting melanoma with RCM is complemented by a concomitant increased specificity, which results in the reduction of unnecessary biopsies of nevi. Although RCM can achieve high diagnostic accuracy for early melanoma detection, false-negative and false-positive cases of melanoma are occasionally encountered. This article reviews the essential clues and pitfalls for the diagnosis of melanoma via RCM and highlights the importance of evaluating RCM findings in light of the clinical scenario and dermoscopic features.
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Dermatologic clinics · Jan 2016
ReviewMedical Treatments of Hidradenitis Suppurativa: More Options, Less Evidence.
Hidradenitis suppurativa is a common debilitating skin disease that has been neglected by science. The disease is getting more and more attention, reflected by the rising number of scientific publications. ⋯ Many of these therapies showed promising results, but are still waiting to be validated in randomized, controlled trials. Much more research is needed to strengthen the Level of Evidence for these therapies and thus improve patient care.
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Dermatologic clinics · Jan 2016
ReviewRandomized Controlled Trials for the Treatment of Hidradenitis Suppurativa.
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory, recurrent, debilitating skin disease. Several treatment modalities are available, but most of them lack high-quality evidence. ⋯ Evidence for long-term treatment and benefit/risk ratio of available treatment modalities is needed in order to enhance evidence-based treatment in daily clinical practice. Combining surgery with antiinflammatory treatment warrants further investigation.
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Actinic granuloma and annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma are different terms used to define skin lesions characterized by elastolysis, elastophagocytosis, and multinucleated giant cell infiltrate. The clinical appearance varies from papules to annular plaques. ⋯ The course tends to be chronic, with variable response to treatments, although spontaneous remission may occur. Diabetes mellitus is the systemic disease most frequently associated with this condition.
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Sarcoidosis is a disease characterized by noncaseating granulomatous infiltration of 1 or more organs. In North America, after the lungs and thoracic lymph nodes, the skin is the next most commonly involved organ. ⋯ The disease's many clinical manifestations and course vary greatly and are influenced by race, ethnicity, and gender. In the skin, the lesions of sarcoidosis are classified as specific when noncaseating granulomas are present, and nonspecific when there is an inflammatory reaction pattern devoid of granulomas.