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Notes: A significant problem in the management of pediculosis is the removal of nits from the hair after pediculicide treatment. This study describes use of a nit removal system incorporating a creme rinse containing formic acid that loosens' the bond between the nit and hair. Twenty-four children with pediculosis capitis, age 4 to 12 years, were evaluated. Sections of hair with equivalent numbers of nits were identified as control or test sites. Combing for 5 minutes after use of the formic acid rinse removed 93.5% of nits compared with a 27.6% reduction in the control section (p 〈 0.0001). These results demonstrate that use of this nit removal system greatly facilitates nit removal.

Notes: : The incidence and significance of positive cutaneous immunofluorescence findings were assessed in biopsy specimens of both sun-exposed and non-sun-exposed skin of 34 adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were not receiving systemic corticosteroids. The incidence of lupus erythomatosus (LE)-band was low (8.6%) in both groups. Twenty-eight percent of the patients had perivascular IgM and lor C3 deposits, and 74% had cytoid bodies in the papillary dermis. These studies indicate that the incidence of LE band is low in RA and that the detection of such a band in normal skin warrants close follow-up of RA patients for possible development of LE.

Notes: The class of immunoglobulin (Ig) deposited at the dermal-epidermal junction (DEI) of the skin in patients With systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been proposed to have prognostic implications. The authors studied disease activity in 51 SLE patients with a positive lupus band. Patients with cutaneous IgM deposits had significantly more severe disease than those with only IgG or with mixed immunoglobulin deposits. While their data suggest an association between IgM depostis, severe disease and a poor prognosis, they urge caution in utilizing Ig deposits as a prognostic indicator.

Notes: Three hundred and forty-nine (349) patients with pruritic atopic dermatitis who provided written informed consent participated in this study. To enter, patients had to have experienced moderate to severe pruritis accompanying their eczematous lesions daily for at least 1 week prior to enrollment, a family history of atopy and/or a personal history of atopic dermatitis, 25% or less body surface area affected by atopic dermatitis, and good general health. After enrollment, patients were required to discontinue systemic corticosteroids at least 4 weeks prior to study entry as well as antipruritic and central nervous system-active medications at least 1 week before entry. In addition, no topical medications were permitted to be applied to treatment sites for at least 2 days before entry. Patients who had infected treatment sites, other concurrent cutaneous conditions, or who were pregnant or lactating were excluded from the study.This was an 8-day multicenter double-blind parallel-design study assessing the effects of adding topical doxepin to topical corticosteroid treatment vs. the topical corticosteroid treatment itself. All test products were incorporated in an identical cream base to that for doxepin hydrochloride cream. Using a computer-generated randomization schedule, patients were assigned to treatment groups receiving creams containing: (1) 2.5% hydrocortisone; (2) 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide; (3) 2.5% hydrocortisone and 5% doxepin hydrochloride; (4) 0.1% severity acetonide and 5% doxepin hydrochloride. Patients were instructed to apply the study cream four times daily for 8 days of treatment. The physician initially rated the patients’ pruritis as mild, moderate, or severe, and their atopic dermatitis as mild, moderate, marked, or severe. A baseline visual analog scale (VAS) for pruritis severity, consisting of a 100-mm horizontal line labeled “no itch” and “worst itch imaginable” at opposite ends, was completed by the patients to quantify the intensity of pruritis experienced during the week before study entry and daily during the study. Additionally, daily during the study, each patient completed a VAS for pruritis relief by marking a 100-mm vertical line labeled “no relief from itching” and “complete relief from itching” at opposite ends. After the baseline evaluation, subsequent visits were scheduled for days 2, 3, 4, and 8. At each visit, the physician reviewed the patient’s daily VASs to record a global evaluation of pruritis relief and rated the overall change in dermatitis on a five-point scale ranging from much worse to much better. Any reports of adverse effects were also recorded.Analysis of covariance was used to assess the VAS for pruritis severity. With the use of the row mean score with ridit assigned scores, Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel (CMH) analysis for ordered response categories was performed in the analysis of the physicians’ global evaluations (pruritis and dermatitis). Intent-to-treat analysis was used for all efficacy variables. Statistical significance was defined as p 〈 0.05 (two-tailed).