Dermatology News

The FDA has approved Benzyl Alcohol Lotion 5% (Sciele Pharma) as a treatment for children aged 6 months or older who have active head lice infestation.

A 5-year-old boy presents to your clinic with an asymptomatic rash involving his extremities and trunk for three days (Figure 1). Further history reveals the boy had fever, irritability and malaise for several days that resolved without sequelae one week prior. His rash began three days prior with flushed cheeks and then spread. Other children in his class were kept home with similar symptoms.

Discordance between Staphylococcus aureus isolates cultured from nasal and wound sites and discrepancies between nasal colonization status and incidence of recurrent infections among children suggested that nasal colonization may not be an accurate marker for predicting which children are at risk for recurrent community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin infections.

Determining the optimal therapies for patients with persistent acne should start with the patient interview, according to a presenter at the 67th American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, held here.

Concerns about terroristic attacks on nuclear power plants led many communities to distribute potassium iodide to people in the surrounding area, making this tablet – commonly used to treat kerions – difficult to come by.

There are a number of factors to consider when deciding how to treat patients with atopic dermatitis, including the severity of the illness, duration of action for particular medications and costs involved in the treatments.

Researchers can now access data that examines an individual’s risk of developing serious skin reaction — like Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis — based on their genetic makeup.

An 18-month-old healthy black boy presented to your office with a three-week history of an erythematous, edematous eruption, which began around his elbows and knees and spread to involve his cheeks, the extensor aspects of his upper and lower extremities, and his buttocks. His mother reported that he developed an upper respiratory infection two weeks prior that had since resolved. The lesions were asymptomatic, and the child was otherwise acting well. He had no prior history of similar lesions. On exam, involving his cheeks, forehead, nose, and extensor aspects of his extremities – with remarkable sparing of the trunk – are innumerable discrete and coalescing 2 – 10 millimeter erythematous, edematous monomorphic papules and papulovesicles. A few are centrally crusted. They tend to line up in areas of trauma, such a scratches.

In 1980, when varicella was still a common childhood disease, a 6-month-old female was in her fourth day of an uncomplicated case of varicella when she suddenly became much sicker with a secondary fever and a cellulitis-appearing rash on her abdomen. Oral antimicrobial therapy was begun, but she rapidly worsened and was referred for admission.

A 2.5-year-old girl presented to the clinic complaining of a skin colored annular plaque on her right arm.