Complementary exams in the diagnosis of American tegumentary leishmaniasis.

The diagnosis of American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis is a difficult but essential task when considering the high toxicity profile of the drugs available. Since the discovery of its etiologic agent, numerous diagnostic tests have been developed. None of the tests available today can be considered as the gold standard, since they do not add enough accuracy for the disease detection.

The use of the Er:YAG 2940nm laser associated with amorolfine lacquer in the treatment of onychomycosis.

Onychomycosis is a common disease, accounting for up to 50% of all ungual pathologies. We have been developing a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01528813) using a 2940nm Er:YAG laser to fractionally ablate human nails in vivo, aiming to increase topical amorolfine lacquer delivery to the nail unit, increasing the efficacy of topical treatment of distal and lateral subungual onychomycosis.

Recurrent cutaneous leishmaniasis.

We present a case of an 18-year-old male patient who, after two years of inappropriate treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis, began to show nodules arising at the edges of the former healing scar. He was immune competent and denied any trauma. The diagnosis of recurrent cutaneous leishmaniasis was made following positive culture of aspirate samples.

Phacomatosis pigmentokeratotica--a patient with hypophosphatemic rickets.

The epidermal naevus syndrome (ENS) is a sporadic condition characterized by congenital epidermal naevi associated with anomalies in other organ systems, most commonly the central nervous system and skeleton. We report a case of ENS presenting hypophosphataemic rickets resistant to traditional therapeutic agents.

Active search for leprosy cases in Midwestern Brazil: a serological evaluation of asymptomatic household contacts before and after prophylaxis with bacillus Calmette-Guérin.

Leprosy is a disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae that carries a high risk of disability, making early diagnosis mandatory. This study aimed to determine the applicability of anti-PGL-1 IgM antibody detection, using the ML FLOW technique, as an assistant tool for the detection of leprosy infection in asymptomatic household contacts (AHHC) of multibacillary leprosy index cases from Midwest Brazil. Serological changes induced by the prophylaxis of these household contacts with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) were also verified.

The use of ablative lasers in the treatment of facial melasma.

Melasma represents a pigmentary disorder that is difficult to treat. This study aims to broadly review the use of ablative lasers (Er:YAG and CO2) in the treatment of melasma, presenting the level of evidence of studies published to date. A total of 75 patients were enrolled in four case series studies (n=39), one controlled clinical trial (n=6) and one randomized controlled clinical trial (n=30).

Congenital dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans.

Congenital dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare dermal and subcutaneous neoplasm of low-grade malignant behavior that is characterized by a low frequency of metastases with locally invasive growth. Its occurrence at birth and during childhood is rare. We present a case of a patient who was born with a light brown macule on his right buttock that was misdiagnosed as localized scleroderma.

Periungual leishmaniasis.

The vast majority of cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis are represented by limb injuries. A female patient, white, presented an ulcer with infiltrated borders located on the fourth finger of the left hand following occupational exposure in an area of native forest. Diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania of the subgenus Viannia was confirmed.

Infection of the lymphatic system by Aureobasidium pullulans in a patient with erythema nodosum leprosum.

Aureobasidium pullulans is a causal agent of phaeohyphomycosis, occasionally found in men and animals. As an agent of different opportunistic fungal processes, it may cause fungemia, systemic infections and abscesses in different viscera. This paper aims to report a case of a patient with infection of the lymphatic system by A.

[Frequency of HIV-1, rubella, syphilis, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, simple herpes virus, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Chagas disease and HTLV I/II infection in pregnant women of State of Mato Grosso do Sul].

It was aimed to estimate the frequency of syphilis, rubella, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, toxoplasmosis, Chagas disease, HTLV I/II, simple herpes virus, HIV-1 and cytomegalovirus in pregnant women and to evaluate the relationship between age and the frequency of the infections studied. A transversal study of 32,512 pregnant women submitted to pre-natal screening in the period of November 2002 to October 2003. The frequency of the tried infections among the pregnant women were 0.