Patterns of Occupational Exposure to Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Health Care Personnel in a Tertiary Care Institute in South India - A Retrospective Case Series.

Background: Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for occupational human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exposure involves the comprehensive measures used to prevent transmission of blood-borne pathogens such as HIV, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus through various strategies such as first aid, counseling, risk assessment, relevant laboratory investigations with informed consent, the provision of short-term anti-retroviral drugs, and follow-up testing.

Aim And Objectives: We sought to investigate the patterns and causes of occupational exposure in health care workers (HCWs) in our institute and the usage of PEP in our center, a tertiary care hospital in south India.

Materials And Methods: The study involved a retrospective analysis of data extracted from the records of PEP usage from the anti-retroviral treatment (ART) center attached to the dermatology, venereology and leprosy out-patient department of a tertiary care center in south India.

Expression of CD117 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor α in patients with alopecia areata.

Background: Alopecia areata is a disease of uncertain, probably autoimmune etiology. The role of growth factors like platelet-derived growth factor and C-kit (CD117) in alopecia areata is unknown.

Aims: To compare the expression of CD117 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor α in tissue samples of alopecia areata and normal controls.

A retrospective analysis of dermatoses in the perimenopausal population attending a tertiary care centre in South India.

Introduction: Menopausal is a normal physiologic aging process in women characterized by decreasing estrogen levels. The skin is an organ dependant on hormones, estrogen being the most important in case of females, thereby influencing both the biology of skin and composition. Studies show that the systemic effects of estrogen deprivation occur years after attaining menopausal, however cutaneous features have been noticed earlier.

Double trouble: Cyclosporine-induced thrombocytosis in a patient with methotrexate toxicity: Are they related?

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, disfiguring, inflammatory, and proliferative condition of the skin. It manifests with varying degrees of severity and can be treated with various immune modulators. This is a case report of a 57-year-old male patient of psoriasis on long-term oral methotrexate, who developed methotrexate toxicity when given an injection of methotrexate for unstable psoriasis.

Dermoscopic findings of alopecia areata in dark skinned individuals: an analysis of 116 cases.

Background: Several dermoscopic findings in alopecia areata (AA) are characteristic and aid in the diagnosis of this disease. Studies evaluating the clinical significance of these findings in AA in dark-skinned individuals are sparse. There is no literature of correlation of dermoscopic findings to severity of disease.

Extensive nevus comedonicus involving the palm: questionable role of the pilosebaceous unit in pathogenesis.

A 10-year-old boy had multiple grouped pits with black plugs arranged along the lines of Blaschko on his left chest, arm, and palm. Involvement of the palms is rarely reported in the literature. Recent reports have described mosaic acneiform conditions that could share pathogenetic mechanisms with nevus comedonicus.

Novel presentation of lepromatous leprosy in an erythema gyratum repens-like pattern.

Objectives: Leprosy can have diverse cutaneous and occasionally perplexing presentations. We report an unusual case of lepromatous leprosy (LL) with annular lesions resembling erythema gyratum repens.

Report: A 55-year-old man presented with a symmetrical, hypopigmented, and erythematous rash of bizarre appearance over the lateral aspect of the upper arm, and anterior and posterior aspects of the trunk of two months' duration.

A retrospective analysis of combination methotrexate-cyclosporine therapy in moderate-severe psoriasis.

Background: Methotrexate-cyclosprine combination therapy has traditionally been discouraged in the treatment of moderate-severe psoriasis. However, recent reports indicate that the two may be used in combination in psoriasis.

Aim: The retrospective study was undertaken to study the adverse effects and efficacy of the combination in Indian patients of psoriasis.

Rabson-Mendenhall syndrome with recurrent cerebral infarcts caused by a novel INSR mutation.

Rabson-Mendenhall syndrome (RMS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by extreme insulin resistance and certain characteristic phenotypic features. The primary defect lies in the insulin receptor and involves biallelic mutations that lead to a loss of function through various postulated defects. We present a 9-year-old female patient with RMS complicated by multiple cerebral infarcts, in whom genetic analysis revealed a novel insulin receptor mutation.

Acquired zinc deficiency in an adult female.

Acrodermatitis enteropathica is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder of zinc absorption. Acquired cases are reported occasionally in patients with eating disorders or Crohn's disease. We report a 24-year-old housewife with acquired isolated severe zinc deficiency with no other comorbidities to highlight the rare occurrence of isolated nutritional zinc deficiency in an otherwise normal patient.

Use of intense pulse light for acne vulgaris in Indian skin--a case series.

Background: Intense pulse light (IPL) has become extremely popular in Indian cosmetology circles. Yet, literature is silent on its effect in heavily melanized skin.

Objective: A descriptive study to gauge the effect of IPL on acne vulgaris in Indian patients done in a tertiary care center in south India.

New intense pulse light device with square pulse technology for hirsutism in Indian patients: a pilot study.

Background: Intense pulse light (IPL) with square pulse technology is one of the latest hair removal technologies to be marketed in India. However, there is no literature on use of IPL in Indian skin.

Objective: A preliminary descriptive study to ascertain the efficacy of an IPL device with square pulse technology for hair removal in Indian patients.

Atypical forms of lupus vulgaris - a case series.

Atypical presentations of cutaneous tuberculosis are not so uncommon and are frequently overlooked in clinical practice, leading to late diagnosis and increased morbidity. We report three cases of lupus vulgaris with atypical presentations. The cases mimicked other chronic skin lesions like actinomycosis, mycetoma, and so on.