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Background: Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory, and recurrent dermatological disease. In the Côte d'Ivoire, it is about 0.75% of dermatology cases. Psoriasis care is challenging in elderly patients. We aimed to show its specificities related to the sociodemographic, clinical, and therapeutic aspects, and follow-up in geriatric patients., Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study over a period of 10 years (January 2004-December 2013)., Results: The prevalence of patients 60 years of age and older was about 0.1% (47 of 46,623 cases). The average age was 67 ± 1 years ranging from 60 to 85 years. The sex ratio was 1 : 9 in favor of men. The average time course of psoriasis was 25 ± 2 months. Comorbidity was found in 27 cases (57.5%). The most observed type of psoriasis in our study was chronic plaque psoriasis in 51.1% of cases. We found severe cases of psoriasis in 25.5% of cases. More than 10% of the body surface area was affected in 27.6% of cases. We used topical treatments in the majority of cases (83%). The course of psoriasis under treatment was good in 63.8% of cases, and only 6.4% of cases were worsening., Conclusion: Topical agents could be the first-line treatment in geriatric patients in poor countries. If necessary, systemic agents should be used by taking into account the severity of psoriasis, presence of comorbidity factors, immune system level, and lifestyle., (© 2015 The International Society of Dermatology.)

Background: Buruli ulcer is an infection caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans occurring in tropical areas. In West Africa, it is an emerging threat mainly affecting children aged under 15years. This chronic disease is complicated by dystrophic scars in which squamous cell carcinoma can occur in the long term., Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study of squamous cell carcinomas in Buruli ulcer scars seen at the Treichville University Hospital (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) over a five-year period., Results: During the study period, 8cases were observed and concerned young adults presenting Buruli ulcer in their childhood. Tumours were restricted to the limbs, with loco-regional invasion. Treatment was primarily surgical. Four of the patients died., Discussion: The risk of recurrence of cancer in these scars remains poorly evaluated, highlighting the importance of long-term monitoring strategies for human patients in order to ensure rapid identification of any changes in Buruli ulcer scars., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Genital ulcers are common manifestations of infectious disease. The incidence of genital ulcers featuring a chronic course has increased since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. The purpose of this 18-month cross-sectional study was to determine the main infectious causes of chronic genital ulcers (CGU) and their correlation with HIV infection. A total of 29 patients with CGU defined as an ulcer showing no sign of healing after more than one month were studied. Mean age ranged from 24 to 54 years. The male-to-female sex ratio was 1:5. The etiology was herpes in 19 cases (65.5 p. 100), chancroid in 6 cases (20.6 p. 100), streptococcal infection in 2 cases (6.8 p. 100), Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in 1 case (3.4 p. 100) and cutaneous amibiasis in 1 case (3.4 p. 100). Twenty-two patients (75.8 p. 100) presented HIV infection including 16 with HIV1 and 6 with HIV1 and HIV2. All patients with herpes were HIV-positive. Eighteen of these patients were in stage C3 of HIV infection. Genital herpes was the main etiology of UGC in patients with HIV infection (p < 0.001). Conversely chancroid was the main etiology in patients without HIV infection (p < 0.05). This finding suggests that herpetic CGU is highly suggestive of AIDS whereas chancroid CGU is not. Although syphilis is widespread in Africa, it was not a cause of CGU in this study. Search for herpes simplex virus or Haemophilus ducreyi in patients with CGU is an important criteria for presumptive diagnosis of AIDS in Africa.

The incidence of cutaneous atypical mycobacterial infections is increasing. Their clinical presentation is variable. The atypical mycobacteria are difficult to culture and thus diagnosis can be difficult to establish. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) and mycolic acid analysis have recently been used for mycobacterial species identification, but are not routinely used. Risk factors for cutaneous atypical mycobacterial infection include (1) immunodepression due to HIV infection, lymphoma, leukemia or immunosuppressive therapy. Immunodepression is responsible for the emergence of cutaneous infections by a large variety of atypical mycobacterial species, particularly in industrialized countries. (2) The natural environment is directly responsible for the emergence of cutaneous infections but a small number of atypical mycobacterial species including M. marinum in Europe and North America, and M. ulcerans in the tropics. (3) The medical environment when sterilization is inadequate is also not uncommonly responsible. Clinical features are rarely specific for mycobacterial species, and thus analysis of factors relevant to treatment is more important than species classification. We describe environmental forms (Buruli ulcer caused by M. ulcerans is endemic in the tropics, and swimming pool granuloma which is the aquatic form of M. marinum infection), opportunist forms caused by various species in immunodepressed hosts and iatrogenic and accidental forms mostly due to M. fortiutum and M. chelonei. We review the literature and update the clinical characteristics and risk factors for these diseases.

The treatment of non-complicated or complicated (by a bubo) chancroid with 1 single i.m. injection of 250 mg ceftriaxone gave excellent results. Treatment is simple and economical. This is particularly profitable in countries where chancroid is endemic.