Dermatology News

Infants who received probiotics through 6 months of age had a significantly lower incidence of atopic dermatitis compared with controls, according to research published in American Journal of Clinical Dermatology.

Dermatologists can help reduce the carbon footprint in their communities and practices by joining efforts to broaden awareness of the health consequences of “the single greatest public health challenge of our lifetime,” according to a viewpoint published in JAMA Dermatology.

Supplementing atopic dermatitis treatment with probiotics does not benefit children, according to research presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting.

Infectious Diseases in Children asked Janet R. Gilsdorf, MD, DSc (Hon), FPIDS, a past president of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the Robert P. Kelch Research Professor Emerita at the University of Michigan Medical Center, how she saw the value of the pediatric ID specialty, why she went into the field and what it means to her.

Pediatric infectious disease specialists are the lowest paid physicians compared with all other medical specialties, according to a recent report.

A previously healthy 3-year-old female presented with a sore on her right proximal posterior thigh that began about 6 days earlier. Her mother noted that it began as a smaller abrasion, which was thought to be a result of an abrasion injury that may have happened while riding a lawn mower a few days earlier. She reported no fever, and the child was otherwise well. The lesion was seen the next day in a local ER, diagnosed as impetigo, and treated with “triple-antibiotic” cream. Within a couple of days, the lesion appeared to essentially double in size, measuring 6 cm by 2 to 3 cm, with an overlying flaccid blister (Figure 1). At this point, she was taken back to the ER, where a brown recluse spider bite was diagnosed and treated with topical mupirocin. She was seen again the next day by her primary, at which time a swab of the moist, raw lesion was sent for culture and Gram stain, revealing Gram-positive cocci. Treatment was started with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX). The culture grew methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), and it was also sensitive to TMP/SMX.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi announced that the FDA has approved Dupixent for patients aged 12 to 17 years with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis whose disease is not adequately controlled by topical prescriptions or when those therapies are not advisable.

The FDA has proposed a rule that it says would update regulatory requirements for most sunscreen products sold in the United States.

Although children with and without atopic dermatitis receive a comparable amount of sleep, children with the condition are more likely to have a reduced quality of sleep, regardless of the severity of disease.

Mothers who exclusively breastfed for longer than 3 months significantly lowered their child’s risk of eczema, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting.