Using short-message-service notification as a method to improve acute flaccid paralysis surveillance in Papua New Guinea.

Background: High quality acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance is required to maintain polio-free status of a country. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is considered as one of the highest risk countries for polio re-importation and circulation in the Western Pacific Region (WPRO) of the World Health Organization due to poor healthcare infrastructure and inadequate performance in AFP surveillance. The Government of PNG, in collaboration with WHO, piloted the introduction of short-message-service (SMS) to sensitize pediatricians and provincial disease control officers on AFP and to receive notification of possible AFP cases to improve surveillance quality in PNG.

The use of botulinum toxin in the treatment of a parotid duct injury during Mohs surgery and review of management options.

Background: Aggressive skin cancers on the cheeks may involve the parotid duct. For such tumors to be successfully removed, at least part of the parotid duct must be excised as well. Failure to properly address parotid duct injuries that result from Mohs micrographic surgery exposes the patient to a variety of adverse sequelae.

Numerous fibrous papules of the face unassociated with any genodermatosis.

Numerous angiofibromas on the face are commonly associated with tuberous sclerosis or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. We present a healthy 66-year-old female with numerous facial angiofibromas, without evidence of tuberous sclerosis, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, or any of the less common syndromes associated with many angiofibromas on the face. To our knowledge, there have been no previously reported cases of patients with numerous facial angiofibromas who did not have an associated genodermatosis.

A better technique for taking Mohs sections involving cartilage.

Background: When excising Mohs layers involving skin and cartilage in the conventional manner, it can be difficult to flatten the entire margin onto a single plane because of the inelasticity of the cartilage. This is undesirable, because it prevents a complete examination of the surgical margin.

Objective: We describe a modified technique for excising cartilaginous specimens that allows the entire margin of the specimen to be more easily flattened onto a single plane, so that a complete examination of the surgical margin can be performed.

Disseminated sporotrichosis mimicking sarcoidosis.

A 40-year-old Caucasian man presented to the dermatology clinic at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, in February 2003, for the evaluation of three nonhealing ulcers. The patient's past medical history was significant for hypothyroidism and pulmonary sarcoidosis, the diagnosis of which was made in June 2000. In March 2000, the patient had complained of cough and shortness of breath.

Hereditary papulotranslucent acrokeratoderma: a case report and literature review.

Hereditary papulotranslucent acrokeratoderma is a rare autosomal-dominant syndrome of the hands and feet characterized by persistent, asymptomatic, yellowish to white papules and plaques associated with fine-textured scalp hair and an atopic diathesis. Histopathologically, focal hyperkeratosis, hypergranulosis, and acanthosis of the epidermis are seen. We present a case of hereditary papulotranslucent acrokeratoderma in a young adult woman.

Complete resolution of generalized lichen planus after treatment with thalidomide.

Thalidomide has gained an infamous history due to severe birth defects observed in patients who had taken the drug to control nausea during pregnancy. The medication was withdrawn from the market because of its teratogenicity, but was approved by the FDA in 1998 for the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum. However, thalidomide has been employed with success by dermatologists for a host of off-label uses including the treatment of lichen planus.

Papulonodular mucinosis in systemic lupus erythematosus.

A 41-year-old man with systemic and serological manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus presented with a diffuse eruption comprising annular plaques. Histopathology revealed diffuse deposition of mucin throughout the dermis, consistent with papulonodular mucinosis. This uncommon entity of unclear pathogenesis has been described in systemic lupus erythematosus, discoid lupus erythematosus, and subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Serum sickness due to infliximab in a patient with psoriasis.

Infliximab is a chimeric, murine-human, monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis alpha which has shown great efficacy in the treatment of psoriasis. Serum sickness, which is an immune complex mediated syndrome consisting of a cutaneous eruption, fever, arthritis, edema, and lymphadenopathy, has been described in several patients receiving infliximab for the treatment of Crohn's disease. However, to our knowledge, this type of reaction has not been well described in a patient treated with infliximab for psoriasis.