No abstract

We previously described an acute dermatosis characterized by pruritic erythematous and slightly papular lesions on the hands and feet in a ‘gloves and socks’ distribution associated with oral aphthoid lesions and fever (papular-purpuric ‘gloves and socks’ syndrome = PPGSS). We strongly suspected a viral origin, but serologic tests for a large panel of viruses remained negative. Subsequently, 2 cases of PPGSS with serologic evidence of a parvovirus B19 infection have been reported in the literature. Since then we observed 5 additional patients with a PPGSS. Parvovirus B19 infection could be confirmed in only 2 cases. Our findings suggest that the PPGSS can be another, yet undescribed manifestation of parvovirus infection. However, this cannot be shown in all the cases. As the papular acrodermatitis of childhood, this syndrome may be caused by various viral agents.

89 patients (66 males and 23 females) with severe acne were treated with isotretinoin and were followed up for a period of 6–47 months (mean 14 months) after the end of the therapy. Relapses occurred in 14.6% of the patients. They were not found to be related to the total amount of isotretinoin administered (up to 233 mg/kg); a possible, although not significant, link to sex was observed since relapses occurred in 16.6% males and 8.6% of females. But the age of the patients had a significant bearing on the likelihood of relapses: younger patients relapsed more frequently than older patients.

Multiple miliary osteoma cutis of the face represents a rare and frequently unrecognized complication of chronic inflammatory acne. Their differentiation from microcomedones and macrocomedones may be challenging. The case of a 46-year-old Asian woman who suffered from chronic inflammatory acne is described. She had multiple papular lesions of the cheeks that did not respond to various topical and systemic therapies including oral isotretinoin. Light microscopy studies as well as ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) scan investigations demonstrated the presence of multiple osteoma cutis. Needle microincisions followed by mechanical extirpation of the bony formation resulted in a considerable cosmetic improvement of her skin disease. Knowledge of this rare complication of acne is mandatory, as its treatment is different from that of retentional and inflammatory acne and frequently relies on surgical modalities. Our novel technique consisting of needle microincisions with curettage of the lesions is simple and safe, leading to good cosmetic results.

In 1981 Skinner et al (1) proposed the term KID syndrome for a previously disparate group of congenital disorders principally made up of keratitis (K), ichthyosis (I), and deafness (D). The coexistence of congenital deafness associated with ichthyosis had been previously recognized (2,3), yet similarities among affected patients were overlooked because of both the paucity of cases and their seeming diversity. The patient reported by Skinner is similar to one whom we have been following at the Clinique Universitaire de Dermatologie in Geneva since 1978. After having reviewed the literature, we believe that KID syndrome is a useful, unifying clinical term.