Melasma is frequently observed in Indian men. The main causative factors among the male patients appeared to be sun-exposure and family history. Melasma in men is definitely less common than in women, but shares the same clinicohistopathological characteristics as in women.

The increase in air pollution over the years has had major effects on the human skin. Various air pollutants such as ultraviolet radiation, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, oxides, particulate matter, ozone and cigarette smoke affect the skin as it is the outermost barrier. Air pollutants damage the skin by inducing oxidative stress. Although human skin acts as a biological shield against pro-oxidative chemicals and physical air pollutants, prolonged or repetitive exposure to high levels of these pollutants may have profound negative effects on the skin. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation has been associated with extrinsic skin aging and skin cancers. Cigarette smoke contributes to premature aging and an increase in the incidence of psoriasis, acne and skin cancers. It is also implicated in allergic skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis and eczema. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons are associated with extrinsic skin aging, pigmentation, cancers and acneiform eruptions. Volatile organic compounds have been associated with atopic dermatitis. Given the increasing levels of air pollution and its detrimental effects on the skin, it is advisable to use strategies to decrease air pollution.

No abstract

No abstract

ObjectivesSelf-collected vaginal swabs can facilitate diagnosis of vaginal discharge (VD) in resource-limited settings, provided reliability of the method is established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concordance between self-collected and physician-collected vaginal swabs for aetiological diagnosis of VD and to determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV), vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and trichomonas vaginitis (TV).MethodsA total of 550 females (median age: 32 years; range: 18–45 years) attending two sexually transmitted infection/reproductive tract infection (STI/RTI) clinics with VD from January 2015 to May 2016 were included in the study after obtaining written informed consent. Swabs were self-collected by patients after instructions and subsequently by a physician under speculum examination. Samples were processed for standard bedside tests, Gram staining, wet mount and culture (gold standard) according to the national guidelines. Concordance between the two methods was determined by the Cohen’s kappa value.ResultsBV, VVC and TV were diagnosed in 79 (14.4%), 144 (26.2%) and 3 (0.5%) patients, respectively. VVC coexisted with BV in 58 (10.5%) patients. There was no coinfection of TV with BV or VVC.Candida albicanswas isolated in 84 (58.3%) VVC cases. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of self-collected swabs for diagnosing BV was 91.1%, 100%, 100% and 98.5%, respectively, while for theC. albicansVVC and TV, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV all were 100% as compared with physician-collected swabs. Highly concordant results were obtained between two methods by the Kappa values of 0.95 (BV), 0.99 (VVC) and 1.0 (TV).ConclusionThe comparative performance of self-collected and physician-collected vaginal swabs establishes self-collection of samples for BV, VVC and TV as a viable alternative tool in the management of STIs/RTIs, especially in peripheral and resource-constrained settings. This would be effective in implementing the diagnostic approaches for STIs/RTIs in community-based surveillance studies at national or regional level and therefore strengthening the National STI/RTI Control Programme.