Hand eczema was particularly common in hospital cleaners and staff with atopic dermatitis. Further studies are needed to address the burden of occupational hand eczema and develop guidelines for its management at a national level.

Vitiligo, a common skin disorder, is characterized by the loss of functional melanocytes resulting in the depigmentation of skin. Previous studies have demonstrated molecular and architectural alterations in the epidermal keratinocytes upon loss of melanocytes. The physiological implications of these "altered" keratinocytes are yet not known. We investigated the wound healing efficiency of lesional vs nonlesional skin in 12 subjects with stable nonsegmental vitiligo using histological and ultrastructural evaluation of partial-thickness wounds. The wounds were examined 12 days postinjury, coinciding with the reepithelialization phase of healing marked primarily by keratinocyte migration and proliferation. This study demonstrated a significant difference in the reepithelialization potential between the lesional and nonlesional skin. While all 12 nonlesional wounds demonstrated considerable neoepidermis formation on the 12th day post wound, only four of the corresponding lesional samples showed comparable reepithelialization; the rest remaining in the inflammatory phase. Ultrastructural studies using transmission electron microscopy as well as immunohistochemical staining revealed a reduced number of desmosomes, shorter keratin tonofilaments and an increase in myofibroblast population in the dermis of lesional reepithelialized tissue compared to the nonlesional reepithelialized samples. This study implicates gross functional perturbations in the lesional skin during physiological wound healing in vitiligo, suggesting that the breakdown of keratinocytemelanocyte network results in delayed wound repair kinetics in the lesional skin when compared to patient-matched nonlesional skin.

The prescription of antibiotics empirically without confirmation of an infective etiology is on the rise. Administration of appropriate antibiotics can be guided by real-time fluorescence imaging using a point-of-care device. These composite images show the presence, type and the burden of infection. The time saved by this method over microbiological testing, especially in resource-poor settings, can lead to a paradigm shift in treatment by facilitating prompt and adequate antimicrobial therapy, surgical debridement as well as follow-up. Thumbnail sketches of a series of four cases highlighting different scenarios in which a fluorescent imaging device utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning was found useful is presented in this report.

Acute bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury leading to acute vocal cord paralysis (VCP) is a serious complication of head and neck surgery, often requiring emergent surgical intervention. Although well documented, its presentation may be sudden and unexpected, occurring despite lack of obvious intraoperative nerve injury. There is limited literature on airway management strategies for patients with acute bilateral VCP before attaining a secure airway. We report a case of acute VCP that was successfully treated with continuous positive airway pressure via facemask ventilation. This effective temporizing strategy allowed clinicians to plan and prepare for tracheostomy, minimizing potential complications.