Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
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J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. · Apr 1985
Comparative StudyOcclusive wound dressings to prevent bacterial invasion and wound infection.
This study was designed to examine the possibility that some occlusive dressings are barriers to wound penetration by pathogenic bacteria. Two common skin pathogens, the nonmotile, Staphylococcus aureus, and the motile, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were used to challenge dressings placed on partial-thickness wounds in swine. S. aureus was recovered from 100% of air-exposed wounds (log, 5.5 +/- 1.1) and from 50% of Op-Site-treated and Vigilon-treated wounds (log, 6.1 +/- 1.1). ⋯ P. aeruginosa was recovered from 100% of air-exposed wounds (log, 5.1 +/- 0.5) and 100% of Op-Site-covered and Vigilon-covered wounds (log, 5.8 +/- 1.8). P. aeruginosa was not recovered from DuoDERM-covered wounds. These studies lend support to the idea that dressings may protect wounds from invasion by pathogenic bacteria and demonstrate the need to evaluate their bacterial barrier properties in situ.
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J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. · Jan 1985
Case ReportsTinea versicolor: a light and electron microscopic study of hyperpigmented skin.
Hyperpigmentation in lesions of tinea versicolor has previously been reported to be a result of the effects of the fungus Pityrosporon orbiculare on melanosome formation and distribution. Examination of biopsy specimens from lesions of hyperpigmented tinea versicolor involving vitiliginous skin reveals an absence of melanosomes and melanocytes. Reddish-tan and fawn-colored hyperpigmentation in tinea versicolor of this type is not due to melanin pigment. The possible nature of the pigmentation that delineates hyperpigmented tinea versicolor from normal skin is discussed.
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Postoperative localized alopecia has been reported most commonly after certain gynecologic and open heart surgery procedures, the likelihood of hair loss and the chance of permanence correlating with the length of the anesthesia and the intubation. Some cases of pressure-induced alopecia have been described after prolonged coma from other causes. Coma blisters have been reported after drug overdoses, but clinically similar blisters (not tested by biopsy) have been seen in other cases of coma. We present three cases of postoperative (pressure) alopecia and propose that both coma blisters and postoperative alopecia arise from the same phenomenon--probably pressure-induced ischemia.
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Meralgia paresthetica has been described as a common affliction of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, creating the symptoms of numbness, tingling, and paresthesias in the overlying areas of the lateral and anterior thigh. It is second only to sciatica in peripheral nerve diseases of the lower extremity. We present two patients with classic symptoms of meralgia paresthetica and nonscarring alopecia overlying and demarcating the areas of paresthesias. Meralgia paresthetica should be included in the differential diagnosis of localized alopecia of the anterior or lateral thigh.
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J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. · Sep 1984
Case Reports Comparative StudyHerpes zoster and occult malignancy.
Herpes zoster and malignancy have both been associated with conditions of immune suppression. It has been well documented that herpes zoster occurs more frequently in patients with a previously diagnosed malignancy, especially lymphoma. ⋯ In a follow-up period ranging from 24 to 68 months, one individual in the herpes zoster group developed a subsequent malignancy, in comparison to none in the control population and to 1.5 cancer cases expected in the general population. These results support the view that herpes zoster is not a marker for an occult malignancy.