Background: Childhood atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common disorder affecting 15% of children aged over 18 months. AD is associated with intense nocturnal itching. The central sedative effect of antihistamines is thought to be useful in interrupting the itching cycle and may prevent exacerbations. Objective: A multi-centred, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out in 155 children to evaluate chlorpheniramine in alleviating symptoms of AD. Methods: Assessments were carried out over a 4-week study period consisting of 3 visits to out-patient clinics. During the visits the severity of AD and itching was rated using a series of visual analogue scale (VAS) and 5-point rating scales. Results: The use of chlorpheniramine resulted in no greater alleviation of AD symptoms than placebo. Conclusions: The findings contradict conventional wisdom that the sedative effect of earlier-generation antihistamines alleviates symptoms of AD. The study also indicates that the use of antihistamines in AD does not affect the amounts of topical treatment used over the short term.

Diagnosis of paraneoplastic skin syndromes associating neoplastic processes is assumed as the crucial aspect of dermatological practice. Knowledge of clinical findings of dermatoses suggesting coincidence of malignant proliferative processes facilitates diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. We would like to present a case of Sweet's syndrome, qualified for comparative paraneoplastic skin syndromes. Sweet's syndrome, acute, febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, was first described by Robert Douglas Sweet in 1964 as a disorder characterized by fever, skin lesions of erythematous-infiltrative character, leukocytosis with neutrophilia and dense infiltrations of dermis by mature neutrophils. Sweet's syndrome aetiology is not fully understood, although cytokine abnormalities suggest that Th1 lymphocytes play an important role in pathogenesis of the dermatosis. Factors inducing Sweet's syndrome include: haematopoietic hyperplasia; neoplasms: genitourinary, breast, gastrointestinal; infections of the respiratory and alimentary system; inflammatory bowel diseases; drugs; pregnancy and vaccinations. Systemic corticosteroids are the “gold standard” of Sweet's syndrome treatment; potassium iodide or colchicine may also be used. Indomethacin, clofazimine, cyclosporine A and sulfones are the second-line drugs.