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Biomedical subjects

A Parodi

Publications and source records attributed to A Parodi.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

ARA and EADV criteria for classification of systemic lupus erythematosus in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To verify (1) how many patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) fulfill 4 or more American Rheumatism Association (ARA) and European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) criteria for classification of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); (2) which criteria are mostly fulfilled; (3) the severity of the disease in patients fulfilling criteria; (4) how many patients with systemic involvement fail to fulfill 4 ARA and EADV criteria. METHODS: We studied 207 patients with chronic and subacute CLE, classified according to ARA and EADV criteria. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients with localized discoid (L-DLE; 21.8%), 22 with disseminated discoid (D-DLE; 30.5%) and 7 with subacute CLE (SCLE; 28%) had 4 or more ARA criteria. With EADV criteria, these figures fell to 7 (6.4%), 7 (9.7%) and 6 (24%), respectively. Only 3 L-DLE (2.7%), 5 D-DLE (6.9%) and 3 SCLE cases (12%) defined as SLE by ARA criteria and 1, 3 and 3, respectively, by EADV criteria had a renal or neurological disorder, hemolytic anemia and/or thrombocytopenia, vasculitis or serositis. ARA criteria did not classify 7 patients with a similar visceral involvement, while EADV criteria failed in 11 patients. CONCLUSION: In our patients, ARA criteria showed a sensitivity of 88%, a specificity of 79%, a positive predictive value of 56% and a negative predictive value of 96%. EADV criteria showed a sensitivity of only 64%, but a specificity of 93%, a positive predictive value of 61% and a negative predictive value of 94%. ARA criteria should not be used in CLE patients as they are too sensitive, poorly specific and altogether misleading. EADV criteria are more specific, but less sensitive.

Anemia, Hemolytic↗

Mossy leg with eccrine syringofibroadenomatous hyperplasia resembling multiple eccrine syringofibroadenoma.

Eccrine syringofibroadenoma (ES) is a histological entity with a polymorphous clinical presentation. We describe a patient who had multiple nodules on both of his legs resembling lymphoedematous keratoderma (mossy leg or elephantiasis) in the absence of any vascular or lymphatic incompetence. The histological features were those of ES. A surgical resection was effective. Our case is probably an eccrine sweat duct reactive hyperplasia rather than a neoplasia or hamartoma.

Adenoma, Sweat Gland↗

Persistent erythema multiforme: report of two new cases and review of literature.

Within the clinical spectrum of erythema multiforme, two subgroups have been recently identified: recurrent erythema multiforme and the rare persistent erythema multiforme. Two additional cases of persistent erythema multiforme are described. Lesions were widespread and resistant to traditional therapies. One of the patients had an underlying malignancy; the other exhibited a symptom complex characterized by fatigue, fever, sore throat and lymphadenopathy, and an abnormal Epstein-Barr virus serologic profile suggestive of endogenous reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Adult↗

May Helicobacter pylori be important for dermatologists?

Helicobacter pylori, a microaerophilic gram-negative bacterium, is the major cause of gastritis, plays a key role in the etiology of peptic ulcer and is a risk factor for gastric cancer. Although 50% of the population is affected, dermatologist seem to be unaware of the impact H. pylori may have on cutaneous pathology. Among skin diseases, H. pylori has been related so far only with chronic urticaria and rosacea. In rosacea, histology of the stomach mucosa revealed tht 84% of 31 patients were H. pylori positive. Twenty percent of them were serologically negative, but, overall, 100% of the 20 patients with both histology and serology were H. pylori positive with either test. The consistency between clinical success with metronidazole and abatement of H. pylori isolates and serology after treatment was an additional evidence suggesting an etiologic relationship between rosacea and H. pylori infection. Rosacea has often been linked with gastrointestinal disturbances. H. pylori, therefore, may link them to the well-known beneficial activity of metronidazole on rosacea lesions. The role of H. pylori is more probable in erythrotic rosacea than in its papulopustular and granulomatous stages. As in Bacillus subtilis intoxication, a flush-inducing toxin cannot be excluded. Despite the difficulty to find patients accepting bioptic gastroscopies, large case-control studies should be done before a causal relationship with urticaria and rosacea is firmly established.

Bacterial Toxins↗

Antihistone antibodies in scleroderma.

BACKGROUND: Antihistone antibodies (AHA) are usually considered the serological marker of drug-induced lupus erythematosus, but recently they have been found in patients with systemic scleroderma (SSc) and morphea. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: We determined AHA in 43 patients with SSc, 4 patients with overlap syndrome and 11 with morphea. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: AHA were demonstrated in 41.8% of the SSc patients and in 36.3% of the morphea patients. Only 1 patient with overlap syndrome had AHA. Our SSc patients with AHA had frequent cardiac and renal involvements suggesting a prognostic value of AHA. In our morphea patients AHA did not correlate with clinical features.

Adult↗

Lichen planus presenting with erythema-multiforme-like bullous lesions in a patient with systemic scleroderma.

A patient with systemic scleroderma is described who developed a cutaneous eruption of papules and vesicobullae. Over time, the latter turned into papules. The histopathological and immunofluorescence features of the papular lesions were unequivocally those of lichen planus, while those of the bullous lesions reminded of erythema multiforme. Histologically, erythema multiforme shares common features with lichenoid reactions, such as necrotic keratinocytes. Our case suggests that erythema multiforme and lichen planus may coexist or succeed each other as different stereotype immune reactions against the same antigen(s) within the epidermis.

Blister↗

Long-term antimicrobial prophylaxis in lung cancer surgery: correlation between microbiological findings and empyema development.

This study was planned in order to determine the value of antimicrobial prophylaxis in preventing post-operative empyema in patients undergoing lung cancer surgery. Two-hundred consecutive subjects operated upon for lung cancer received teicoplanin and aztreonam, starting at the induction of anesthesia and lasting until removal of the pleural drains. Cultures for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria were taken from: (1) the bronchus at the time of surgical division; (2) the pleural space before closure of the chest; (3) the pleural fluid during the post-operative period; and (4) the tips of chest drains at the time of their removal. In the 200 patients receiving antibiotic prophylaxis, the number of post-operative empyemas (1%) was lower than that (7.5%) found in 53 comparable patients who were previously treated with placebo. In the 'placebo group', empyema was due to gram-positive bacteria, while in the 'prophylaxis group', it was caused by Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa). A significant (P < 0.05) correlation between infected bronchial secretions, pleural space contamination at surgery, contamination of chest fluid and drains during the post-operative period, and empyema development was demonstrated. In conclusion, antibiotic prophylaxis, while being effective in preventing post-operative empyema, may induce the colonization of the respiratory tract with highly resistant gram-negative bacteria.

Aged↗