IntroductionThe health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) instruments are an important tool for the evaluation of medical outcomes. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) influence the patients' life. We aimed to evaluate the HRQoL in patients with anogenital warts at the time of and 1 month after the diagnosis.Materials and methodsWe used the short-form (SF)-36 questionnaire to compare the HRQoL of 91 patients with anogenital warts to 53 control subjects with the same socioeconomic characteristics.ResultsThere was no statistical difference in the overall HRQoL measurement between the anogenital wart patients and controls. However, there was an improvement in the scales of vitality (65.22 ± 15.70 vs. 69.04 ± 14.11, respectively; p < 0.05) and mental health (65.00 ± 20.09 vs. 69.43 ± 18.08, respectively; p < 0.05) in anogenital warts patients between the time of diagnosis and 1 month later. Furthermore, there was a significant deterioration in the scale of social functioning (73.47 ± 22.18 vs. 72.89 ± 19.28, respectively; p < 0.05). The small sample size is a limitation of our study.ConclusionsHRQoL does not appear to be influenced in anogenital wart patients, as measured by the generic instrument SF-36. It is therefore important to develop specific instruments for the measurement of HRQoL in this group of patients.

The distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis serovars and Neisseria gonorrhoeae coinfection was studied in a group of 100 C. trachomatis-positive males with urethritis in Greece. The serovar distribution revealed that apart from the predominant worldwide types E and F, the relatively uncommon type G is also prevalent. Gonococcal coinfection was frequent (30%) and was associated with genovariant Ja (75%, P ‫؍‬ 0.008).Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in industrialized countries, producing infections of the upper and lower genital tract in males and females, including urethritis, epididymitis, and proctitis in males (7,9,14,19). Currently, more than 18 different serovars of the organism have been identified based on conventional serotyping, while more than 29 variants have been recognized by employing monoclonal antibodies or genotypic methods (1, 15).The knowledge of the distribution profile of C. trachomatis urogenital serovars has been the focus of several studies in different regions worldwide, since it provides valuable information about their epidemiology and pathogenicity that contributes to the implementation of sufficient STD control measures. The most common serovar detected worldwide is E (up to 22 to 49% of cases) followed by serovars F and D (17 to 22% and 9 to 19%, respectively), while other serovars are less frequently identified (1,10,12,15,16,17).No data are available in Southern European countries, such as Greece, about the circulating C. trachomatis serovars among either general or specific populations, apart from a previous study in Italy that examined the C. trachomatis serovar distribution in a group of male patients with urethritis (4). The C. trachomatis serovars D through K, including the serovars Da and Ia and the genovariant Ja, are related to genital tract disease (2). Moreover, on a worldwide basis, although concomitant infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis is well established and frequent according to epidemiological data (3,5,11,20), very little is known about the molecular biology-based identification of N. gonorrhoeae coexisting infection and its association with C. trachomatis serovars.The objectives of this study were to provide novel data regarding the C. trachomatis serovar distribution in this specific geographical area, by examining a specific group of symptomatic male patients with C. trachomatis urethritis living in Greece, and also to investigate the presence of N. gonorrhoeae coinfection by employing molecular methods and to discover any possible links of N. gonorrhoeae coinfection with particular C. trachomatis serovars.

This is a retrospective study on the superficial mycoses due to Trichophyton violaceum in the greater Athens area for the last 15 years - 1989-2003. During this period 104 patients were found to have an infection due to T. violaceum- an incidence rate of 0.75% of all dermatophytosis. Of the patients 59 were Greeks, 15 Greek Gypsies and 30 immigrants mostly from Albania (50%). Of them 58 were children, 46 adults (mainly women, 34 cases). Trichophyton violaceum infection was presented with a variety of manifestations (127 cases). The prevailing was tinea capitis present in 85 patients - 57 children, 24 women and four men (women : men 6 : 1). Tinea capitis together with other forms of the infection was found in 14 patients. Tinea facie, corporis, manuum, barbae and unguium were seen in nineteen patients. The isolation rate of T. violaceum infection in the Greek population remained at a low level for three decades after the mid-1960s. However, a substantial increase in the isolation rate is observed in the mid-1990s attributed mainly to the influx of economic immigrants from countries where the infection is endemic.

We report the case of a patient who, following surgical removal of an extensive tumour of the bowel, developed fungaemia. The yeast was isolated from repeated blood and urine cultures and identified as Rhodotorula rubra on the basis of macroscopic and microscopic features. Following treatment with amphotericin B, the patient's condition improved and the cultures became sterile.