BACKGROUND: Chemical peels using glycolic acid and tretinoin are known to be safe and effective for treating facial pigmentary lesions. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated and compared the efficacy of tretinoin and glycolic acid peeling for facial pigmentary lesions by using a digital camera and L*a*b* color scale in Adobe Photoshop 5.5(R) METHODS: Thirty eight patients with facial pigmentary lesions were treated with 50% glycolic acid and 1% tretinoin peelings. The treatment was performed 2-3 times per week for a period of 2 weeks and a half. Exposure time was 2 minutes for the glycolic acid and 6 hours for the tretinoin. Before and after the treatment, pigmentary lesions were evaluated using self evaluation forms and the L*a*b* color system (Commission International de I'Eclairage) in Adobe Photoshop 5.5(r) (Adobe Systems Incorporated, USA). Corneometer (Corneometer(r) CM820, Courage Khazaka Electronic GmbH, Germany) was used for the evaluation of skin hydration before and after the treatment. RESULTS: Facial pigmentary lesions were significantly improved in 10 out of 38 patients after 50% glycolic acid peeling and in 12 out of 38 patients after 1% tretinoin peeling. The state of hydration of the treated skin improved significantly after the peeling using both 50% glycolic acid and 1% tretinoin. CONCLUSION: Topical 1% tretinoin peeling is as effective as 50% glycolic acid peeling in the treatment of facial pigmentary lesions and more frequent peeling results in quicker improvement than the previous studies without significant side effects.
Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Humans ; Skin ; Tretinoin*

BACKGROUND: Although surgical excision is the standard method for the treatment of venous malformations, this procedure often leads to massive bleeding and cosmetic problems. Sclerotherapy for venous malformations has recently been reported, whereas sclerotherapy for varicose veins, leg telangiectasias and hemorrhoids has well been established. PBJECTIVE: To assess the usefulness of sclerotherapy for venous malformations. METHOD: Fourteen patients who had venous malformation were treated with sclerotherapy using sodium tetradecyl sulfate (Thromboject(R), Omega Laboratories, Ltd., Montreal, Canada). Clinical efficacy was evaluated by physical examination and comparison of photographs. RESULTS: In patients with venous malformations, 71.4% of the eases showed moderate to marked improvement. Side effects were noted in 6 patients, however, they were trivial and transient and no treatment was needed. CONCLUSION: Sclerotherapy can be recommended as an effective method for the treatment of venous malformations. It has milder and fewer side effects than other treatment modalities, and it also yields superior cosmetic results.
Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhoids ; Humans ; Leg ; Physical Examination ; Sclerotherapy* ; Sodium Tetradecyl Sulfate ; Telangiectasis ; Varicose Veins

Objective To investigate the associated factors and trends of prehospital delay in elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Methods Elderly patients with AIS admitted to the First People's Hospital of Qujing from 2007 to 2017 were enrolled retrospectively.The data of patients was collected from the medical records.Onset-to-door time ＞ 2 h was defined as prehospital delay.The demographic and baseline data were compared between the delay group and the non-delay group.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associated factors for prehospital delay.In addition,the trends of prehospital delay time at the different stages of the study were also analyzed.Results A total of 1 566 patients with AIS aged ≥65 years were enrolled.Their mean age was 75.61 ±6.06 years.The mean time of prehospital delay was 10.83 ± 7.47 h (median time 8.27 h).Multivariatelogistic regression analysis showed that advanced age (odds ratio [OR] 1.271,95％ confidence interval [CI] 1.029-2.896;P =0.039),nocturnal onset (OR 1.413,95％ CI 1.067-3.859;P=0.013),and atypical symptom onset (OR 2.345,95％ CI 1.184-8.126;P=0.029) were independently positively correlated with prehospital delay,while the emergency medical service transport (OR 0.743,95％ CI 0.261-0.998;P =0.010),having medical insurance (OR 0.219,95％ CI 0.015-0.799;P =0.042),and having a bystander at the time of onset (OR 0.618,95％ CI 0.149-0.814;P=0.003) were independently negatively correlated with prehospital delay.At the different stages of the study,January 2007 to October 2010,November 2010 to April 2015,and May 2015 to December 2017,the mean time of prehospital delay was 12.59 ± 7.06 h,10.57 ±7.78 h,and 8.47 ±7.07 h,respectively.They showed a decrease trend,but the difference was not statistically significant.Conclusion Advanced age,nocturnal onset,and atypical symptom onset were the independent risk factors for prehospital delay,while emergency medical service transport,having medical insurance,and having a bystander at the time of onset were the independent protective factors for prehospital delay.The delay time of the elderly patients with AIS is declining year by year,but the improvement is not significant.The delay in seeking timely medical intervention remains an important public health problem.

An 84-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with fever, jaundice, and itching. He had been diagnosed previously with chronic renal failure and diabetes, and had been taking allopurinol medication for 2 months. A physical examination revealed that he had a fever (38.8degrees C), jaundice, and a generalized maculopapular rash. Azotemia, eosinophilia, atypical lymphocytosis, elevation of liver enzymes, and hyperbilirubinemia were detected by blood analysis. Magnetic resonance cholangiography revealed multiple cysts similar to choledochal cysts in the liver along the biliary tree. Obstructive jaundice was suspected clinically, and so an endoscopic ultrasound examination was performed, which ruled out a diagnosis of obstructive jaundice. The patient was diagnosed with DRESS (Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms) syndrome due to allopurinol. Allopurinol treatment was stopped and steroid treatment was started. The patient died from cardiac arrest on day 15 following admission.
Aged, 80 and over ; Allopurinol/adverse effects ; Biliary Tract/pathology ; Biliary Tract Diseases/diagnosis ; Bilirubin/blood ; Creatine/blood ; Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome/*diagnosis/etiology ; Endosonography ; Eosinophils/cytology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Male ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective To study the correlation between the changes of matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9)and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio(NLR)before and after the revascularization of acute ischemic stroke(AIS),so as to find biomarkers to predict the bleeding transformation risk of AIS patients.Methods From February 2022 to December 2022,161 patients admitted to the Stroke Center of Qujing Hospital Affiliated to Kunming Medical University with AIS werre divided in to the hemorrhagic transformation group and the non-hemorrhagic transfor-mation groupand treated with revascularization(intravenous thrombolysis,endovascular treatment,combined the intravenous thrombolysis with endovascular treatment).Among them,there were 46 cases in the hemorrhagic transformation group and 115 cases in the non hemorrhagic transformation group.And the general data,NLR value and MMP-9 before and after the revascularization were compared between the two groups.Results There was no statistical difference in general data between the two groups(all P>0.05)except for C-reactive protein in hemorrhagic transformation group and in non-hemorrhagic transformation group(P<0.001).The white blood cells,neutrophils,neutrophil percentage,neutrophil absolute value,lymphocyte absolute value,NLR and MMP-9 value in hemorrhagic transformation group were significantly higher than those in non-hemorrhagic transformation group before the treatment and there was a statistical significance(P<0.05).After revascularization,the indexes of blood routine and MMP-9 were significantly higher than those before the revascularization,and the increase in hemorrhagic transformation group was more obvious than that in non-hemorrhagic transformation group and there was a statistical significance(P<0.001),The ROC curve showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of NLR and MMP-9 predicting bleeding transformation after AIS revascularization were 0.74 and 0.90.Conclusion NLR,MMP-9 are associated with the risk of bleeding transformation in AIS patients after the revascularization and can they can be used as the predictive factors for bleeding transformation risk.