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Arun Agarwalla

Publications and source records attributed to Arun Agarwalla.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Tinea capitis in eastern Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Tinea capitis is an increasing public health concern throughout the world. The clinical types and etiological agents vary from time to time and place to place. This study was undertaken to identify the etiological agents and to determine the clinico-etiological correlation of tinea capitis in eastern Nepal. METHODS: Sixty-nine clinically diagnosed cases of tinea capitis were enrolled in this study. Hair roots and skin scrapings were collected from each patient and subjected to microscopy and culture for identification of fungal hyphae and spores. RESULTS: Tinea capitis accounted for 4.6% of all dermatophyte infections: 68.1% occurred in patients below the age of 11 years with a male to female ratio of 1 : 1.9. "Gray patch" was the most common clinical type (52.2%), followed by "black dot" (17.4%), seborrhoeic dermatitis (13%), alopecia areata (11.6%) and pustular (4.3%). Direct microscopy of hair was positive in 62.3% of patients. Culture positivity was found in 56.7% of patients. Common isolated organisms were Trichophyton violaceum (48.71%), T. mentagrophytes (15.38%), T. tonsurans (12.82%), Microsporum canis (7.69%), T. rubrum and M. gypseum (5.12% each), and M. audouinii and M. nanum (2.56% each). CONCLUSIONS: Trichophyton violaceum was the most common pathogen of tinea capitis. The clinical manifestations were variable and "gray patch" was the most common clinical presentation in this part of the world.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome: a clinico-epidemiological review.

Diaminodiphenyl sulphone (dapsone) is a drug of choice in the treatment of leprosy. It is also useful for the treatment of many neutrophilic and other dermatoses. Dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome is a rare but well recognized serious adverse effect characterized by fever, skin rashes, generalized lymphadenopathy, hepatitis, and hepato-splenomegaly. Twenty-six patients with dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome were studied for clinical profile, outcome, and prognosis. The male:female ratio was 2.2:1, and the mean age was 33.19 years (range 13 to 64 years). The interval between start of dapsone therapy and appearance of symptoms varied from 2-7 weeks (mean 29.82 days). Twenty-four patients received dapsone as a part of multi-drug therapy for leprosy; the other two patients received dapsone for lichen planus and acne vulgaris. Exfoliative dermatitis was the most common cutaneous manifestation followed by erythematous maculo-papular eruption and Stevens-Johnson syndrome-like lesion. The other common systemic manifestations were: fever (26 cases), itching (22 cases), lymphadenopathy (21 cases), jaundice (21 cases), pallor (20 cases), hepatomegaly (19 cases), and pedal edema (14 cases). Investigation profile revealed elevated levels of serum liver enzymes in 100% of patients, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate in 92.3%, raised bilirubin in 84.6%, leucocytosis in 69.23%, low hemoglobin (<9 gm/dl) in 46.15% and hypoproteinemia in 42.3%. Eosinophilia, hemolytic anemia, and reticulocytosis count were found in 4 patients each. All the patients had favorable outcomes except three who died due to hepatic failure. Medical personnel must be aware of this potentially fatal syndrome, because it can cause considerable morbidity and mortality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Stevens-Johnson syndrome with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura treated with dexamethasone pulse therapy.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a severe, episodic, acute, mucocutaneous hypersensitivity reaction often caused by drugs. We herewith report a case of SJS with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) that did not respond to daily oral prednisolone therapy. When treated with dexamethasone pulse therapy, the response was found to be very good. Therefore, we concluded that dexamethasone pulse therapy can be a good and an effective alternative therapy for treatment of such patients. However, to establish its role, further trials in more patients are needed.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Chromoblastomycosis: report of two cases from Nepal.

Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic fungal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue caused by dematiaceous fungi. The first case, a 67-year-old male farmer, presented with itchy hyperkeratotic, scaly plaques with scarring and black dots on the lateral aspects of his left arm and dorsum of his left hand of 28 years duration. The case was clinically diagnosed as chromoblastomycosis. The second case, a 75-year-old farmer, presented with erythematous, crusted, scaly plaques on the dorsum of the left foot of 30 years duration. Initially, a clinical diagnosis of lupus vulgaris was made, but treatment with anti tuberculosis therapy showed no improvement. On the basis of histopathological examinations of skin biopsies and isolation of fungus on culture, both cases were diagnosed as chromoblastomycosis. To the best of our knowledge, these two cases are the first case reports of chromoblastomycosis from Nepal and are presented for their academic interest.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

A study from Nepal showing no correlation between lichen planus and hepatitis B and C viruses.

A total number of 86 cases of Lichen planus (LP) were seen over a period of one and a half years. This constituted 0.58% of 14,833 new dermatological patients seen. Hepatitis B and C viral (HBV & HCV) serology was carried out in 64 patients and 43 age and sex matched controls. In the examined patients, 35 (54.27%) had the skin lesions only. Oral lesions were present in 15 (23.4%) of the patients in addition to skin lesions, while 14 (21.9%) had only oral involvement. Serology for HBsAg and HCV was negative in all types of LP patients and the controls. In Nepal, HBV and HCV seem to be not important in the pathogenesis of LP.

Adult↗