We describe a case if a 4 year-old girl who consulted our institution because of multiple tense vesicles and bullae on the perioral area, trunk, elbows, knees and dorsum of hands and feet. Biopsy of the lesion revealed subepidermal cleft with few ill-defined acantholytic cells and patchy areas of vacuolar degeneration showing infiltration with numerous neutophils and occasional eosinorphils. There was linear deposition of C3, IgG and IgA on basement membrane zone. The diagnosis was epidemolysis bullosa acquisita, IgA bullous dermatosis-like presentation. The patient was treated with topical corticosteroid for 1 1/2 months with complete resolution of lesions and appearance of milia on the perioral area and dorsum of hands and feet. Patient remained in remission.

Human ; Female ; Child Preschool ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Biopsy ; Blister ; Elbow Joint ; Immunoglobulin A ; Immunoglobulin G ; Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous ; Histiocytosis

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory condition of the skin that is commonly diagnosed among infants and children. Although it is known that AD can affect the quality of life of children, there is ambiguous information about the relationship of disease severity and quality of life in children with AD. To the best of our knowledge, such correlation study has not yet been conducted within the Philippine population.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if disease severity using Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index and quality of life using the Filipino translation of the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI)-cartoon version is correlated in Filipino children with AD
METHOD: Children aged 4-12 years diagnosed with atopic dermatitis at the outpatient dermatology clinic of a tertiary government hospital were recruited in the study. The severity of their disease was assessed by the investigator using the SCORAD index. Quality of life was evaluated using the Filipino translation of the CDLQI-cartoon version. Both were measured at initial consultation and at the follow-up visit one month after. The relationship between these parameters was statistically analyzed using Spearman's correlation.
RESULTS: Forty children were included in the analysis. The mean SCORAD index was 41.08 (SD= +16.54) at baseline and 14.3 (SD = +8.52) on follow-up, while the mean CDLQI score was 12.92 (SD = +5.64) at baseline and 3.35 (SD = +1.98) on follow-up. Majority of the participants had moderate negative effect on QOL at baseline and only a small negative effect on follow-up. Spearman's correlation showed a high positive correlation between the SCORAD index and CDLQI both at initial consultation (Spearman's p= 0.8647) and follow-up visit (Spearman's p= 0.8058). Majority of the children were affected by symptoms of pruritus and sleep disturbance.
CONCLUSIONS: Disease severity (using SCORAD index) and quality of life (using the Filipino translation of the CDLQI-cartoon version) were positively correlated among Filipino children with AD. The Filipino translation of the CDLQI-cartoon version is a valid tool which may be used as an additional subjective measure to the clinical objective scoring tools used in the assessment of AD in the Philippines.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Child Preschool ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatology ; Eczema ; Government ; Outpatients ; Pruritus ; Quality Of Life ; Research Personnel ; Skin

BACKGROUND: Mosquito bite is a common dermatological complaint with various treatments but with no gold standard treatment regimen. OBJECTIVE: To compare the safety and efficacy of 0.025% capsaicin cream against 1% hydrocortisone cream and placebo as anti-inflammatory and anti-pruritic preparation for mosquito bites. METHODS: Seventy-five volunteers were enrolled in the placebo-controlled trial and randomized into three treatment groups. They were exposed to laboratory-reared mosquitoes to incur bites and to apply the designated cream. Anti-inflammatory and anti-pruritic effects were determined by mean lesion size, physician's global assessment, pruritus intensity score and 100mm visual analog scale. RESULTS: The mean lesion size and physician's global assessment, pruritus intensity score and visual analog scale showed no significant difference between 0.025% capsaicin and 1% hydrocortisone and they were both found to be superior to placebo (p-value< 0.001 using repeated measures of ANOVA; Kruskal-Wallis test). CONCLUSION: 0.025% capsaicin is comparable to 1% hydrocortisone as an anti-inflammatory and anti-pruritic preparation for mosquito bites.

Human ; Animal ; Male ; Female ; Analysis Of Variance ; Capsaicin ; Cortisone ; Culicidae ; Hydrocortisone ; Insect Bites And Stings ; Pruritus ; Visual Analog Scale ; Volunteers