Administration, Cutaneous ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; therapeutic use ; Azathioprine ; therapeutic use ; Calcineurin Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Cyclosporine ; therapeutic use ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; immunology ; therapy ; Disease Management ; Food Hypersensitivity ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Patient Education as Topic ; Phototherapy ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Severity of Illness Index ; Singapore

Administration, Cutaneous ; Administration, Topical ; Betamethasone Valerate ; therapeutic use ; China ; Clobetasol ; therapeutic use ; Cohort Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus ; epidemiology ; Ethnic Groups ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; epidemiology ; India ; Lichen Planus ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Malaysia ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Triamcinolone ; therapeutic use

BACKGROUND: Hand dermatitis is a common chronic relapsing skin disease resulting from a variety of causes, including endogenous predisposition and environmental exposures to irritants and allergens. Lifestyle factors such as smoking have been implicated in hand dermatitis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between tobacco exposure and hand dermatitis using the 2003~2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. METHODS: Data were retrieved and analyzed from 1,301 participants, aged 20~59 years, from the 2003~2004 NHANES questionnaire study who completed health examination and blood tests. Diagnosis of hand dermatitis was based on standardized photographs of the dorsal and palmar views of the hands read by two dermatologists. RESULTS: There were 38 diagnosed cases of active hand dermatitis out of the 1,301 study participants (2.9%). Heavy smokers (>15 g tobacco daily) were 5.11 times more likely to have active hand dermatitis (odds ratio [OR], 5.11; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39~18.88; p=0.014). Those with serum cotinine >3 ng/ml were also more likely to have active hand dermatitis, compared with those with serum cotinine ≤3 ng/ml (OR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.26~4.95; p=0.007). After adjusting for confounding factors such as age, atopic diathesis, occupational groups, and physical activity, the association between tobacco exposure and active hand dermatitis remained significant. CONCLUSION: Smoking has a significant association with the presence of active hand dermatitis. It is important to consider smoking cessation as part of management of hand dermatitis.
Adult* ; Allergens ; Cotinine ; Dermatitis* ; Diagnosis ; Disease Susceptibility ; Eczema ; Environmental Exposure ; Epidemiology ; Hand* ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Irritants ; Life Style ; Motor Activity ; Nutrition Surveys ; Occupational Groups ; Skin Diseases ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation ; Smoking* ; Tobacco ; United States*

INTRODUCTION: Nail psoriasis treatment is challenging due to difficult drug delivery and systemic therapy toxicities. Self-dissolvable microneedle patches embedded with corticosteroids offers a potentially rapid, minimally invasive drug delivery platform with good efficacy and minimal adverse side effects. METHODS: We conducted a 4-month prospective randomised controlled trial. Subjects with psoriatic nails were randomised to receive microneedle device delivered topical steroids on one hand and control treatment (topical Daivobet gel) on the other. Two independent dermatologists blinded to the treatment assignment scored their Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI) during visits at baseline, 2 and 4 months. All treatment was discontinued after 2 months. Average NAPSI score on each hand was analysed. RESULTS: A total of 25 participants were recruited, aged 22 to 73 years. Majority were Chinese (72%), followed by Indian and Malay. There was equal randomisation of treatment to the left and right nail. While there was a rapid significant improvement in average NAPSI score for the control arm at 2 months, the treatment arm had a greater, more sustained improvement of the NAPSI score at 4 months. The average NAPSI score improved for both treatment and control group at 4 months compared to baseline. However, only the NAPSI value improvement in the controls at 2 months compared to baseline was statistically significant (P=0.0039). No severe adverse effects were reported. CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prospective randomised control trial comparing microneedle technology against conventional topical steroids in nail psoriasis treatment. Our findings demonstrate microneedle technology is as efficacious as topical therapy.
Humans ; Nail Diseases/drug therapy* ; Nails ; Prospective Studies ; Psoriasis/drug therapy* ; Triamcinolone

INTRODUCTIONTo determine the seroepidemiology of dengue virus infection in a representative sample of the adult resident population aged 18 years old to 74 years old in Singapore and to estimate the proportion of asymptomatic dengue infection during the 2004 epidemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was based on 4152 stored blood samples collected between September and December 2004 from participants aged 18 years old to 74 years old during the 2004 National Health Survey. Sera were tested for IgG and IgM antibodies using a commercial test kit (PanBio Capture/Indirect ELISA).

RESULTSOf the study population, 59.0% and 2.6% tested positive for dengue IgG (past infection) and IgM/high-titre IgG (recent infection), respectively. Only 17.2% of young adults aged 18 years old to 24 years old were dengue IgG positive. Multivariate analyses showed that older age, Indian ethnicity and male gender were significantly associated with past infection, whereas only age was significantly associated with recent dengue infection. Based on the dengue cases notified during the period of survey, it was estimated that for every 23 individuals recently infected with dengue, only 1 was reported to the health authority as a clinical case.

CONCLUSIONThe Singapore population is highly susceptible to dengue epidemics despite its aggressive Aedes prevention and control programme. The finding of a high proportion of unreported cases due to asymptomatic and subclinical infection poses a challenge for dengue control.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aedes ; Aged ; Animals ; Confidence Intervals ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dengue ; epidemiology ; transmission ; Dengue Virus ; Disease Outbreaks ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mosquito Control ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Population Surveillance ; Risk Factors ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Young Adult