Acta dermato-venereologica
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Hidradenitis suppurativa is a recurrent, debilitating suppurative skin disease. The symptoms are much more than just physical, but studies of its impact on patients' psychological state and related quality of life are very limited. The current study was conducted with a group of 54 patients, aged 16-65 years, who had an active, but stable, course of hidradenitis suppurativa. ⋯ The results highlight the important impact of hidradenitis suppurativa on a wide spectrum of psychophysical aspects and impairment of related quality of life among patients. Our findings indicate that advancement of the disease seems to be the most important factor negatively influencing patients' well-being (p < 0.01). It is noteworthy that an anogenital location appears to impair the hidradenitis suppurativa patients' quality of life most of all (p < 0.05), but the occurrence of lesions on uncovered skin plays a crucial role in the stigmatization level (p < 0.05).
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Acta Derm. Venereol. · Mar 2010
Case ReportsToxic epidermal necrolysis-like cutaneous lupus erythematosus: A series of three patients.
Toxic epidermal necrolysis-like lesions have been described in the setting of lupus erythematosus, and have been considered as a specific hyperacute variant of cutaneous lupus erythematosus, with features different from classical drug-related toxic epidermal necrolysis. We report here a series of three patients with lupus erythematosus who presented with severe worsening of their cutaneous disease in a toxic epidermal necrolysis-like fashion. We compared these cases with cases reported previously. Based on this discussion, we speculate that some of these patients may have classical drug-related toxic epidermal necrolysis rather than lupus erythematosus-related toxic epidermal necrolysis.
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Acta Derm. Venereol. · Jan 2010
Role of attentional focus on bodily sensations in sensitivity to itch and pain.
Patients frequently report high levels of physical symptoms, such as itch and pain, which do not completely correspond to pathophysiological findings, possibly indication heightened sensitivity to physical symptoms. Sensitivity to itch and pain is thought to be affected by processes such as attentional focus on bodily sensations. We investigated the role of attentional focus in sensitivity to various somatosensory stimuli evoking both itch and pain sensations in healthy female subjects. ⋯ Attentional focus on bodily sensations was measured using validated questionnaires. The results indicated that focusing on bodily sensations is associated with higher levels of experienced itch and pain but not with tolerance to stimuli. This suggests that attentional focusing on bodily sensations is a mechanism responsible for sensitivity to different physical sensations, such as itch and pain.
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Acta Derm. Venereol. · Nov 2009
ReviewTreatment of hidradenitis suppurativa with tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors.
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a common inflammatory skin disease. Medical treatment is often disappointing and in severe disease surgery remains the therapy of choice. Extensive surgery may be effective but also mutilating. ⋯ TNF-alpha inhibitors seem to be effective in the treatment of HS. However, several questions remain to be answered through specific studies. This review has also identified a need for more standardized reporting of the outcomes as well as randomized controlled trials in this disease.