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Contact immunotherapy is an increasingly used, effective means of treating cutaneous viral warts. Dinitrochlorobenzene, diphencyprone, and squaric acid dibutylester are the most frequently used modalities, showing slight variances in adverse effect profiles and efficacy. All of these agents serve as safe treatment modalities when administered according to the guidelines recommended herein. We review the value of contact immunotherapy in the treatment of cutaneous viral warts.

Plaque-like cutaneous mucinosis (PCM) is a rare disorder of dermal mucin deposition. Some patients with PCM will be found to have an associated malignancy. We report the case of a 72-year-old man presenting with new onset pruritic, waxy-appearing erythematous and skin-colored papules and nodules coalescing into plaques on his shoulder, scalp, and forehead. Skin biopsy revealed cutaneous mucinosis. Despite conservative treatment, his skin lesions progressed, and he was found to have an occult malignancy of pancreatobiliary origin. After several months of chemotherapy, his skin lesions showed progressive improvement. To our knowledge, this is the third reported case of paraneoplastic PCM and the first reported to occur in association with underlying adenocarcinoma of pancreatobiliary origin. PCM may occasionally represent a paraneoplastic dermatosis. This case highlights the importance of a search for occult malignancy in such patients.

The majority of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) cases are provoked by "high risk" medications (e.g. allopurinol, aromatic anticonvulsants, nevirapine, oxicam non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, and sulfonamides). TEN usually occurs 1 to 8 weeks after initial administration of the offending agent, but re-administration can evoke TEN within hours to days. Hydroxychloroquine has rarely been associated with TEN, with one case proving fatal. Herein, we report a case of hydroxychloroquine-induced fatal TEN complicated by angioinvasive Rhizopus. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of angioinvasive Rhizopus in a TEN patient. Initial misidentification of the offending agent causing TEN also serves as an important teaching point worth highlighting.

Background: Because exposure to ultraviolet radiation accounts for a significant portion of endogenous vitamin D production, subjects with cutaneous lupus (CLE) who practise sun-protective measures are at risk for vitamin D insufficiency. Previous studies have shown light-skinned subjects with CLE to have lower serum 25-hydroxy (25-OH) vitamin D levels than normal controls., Objectives: To assess the status of vitamin D insufficiency in dark-skinned individuals with CLE., Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study comparing serum 25-OH vitamin D levels in 25 African-American (AA) subjects with CLE and 26 normal AA subjects matched by age, sex and season in Dallas, Texas. A questionnaire on demographics, medical history and lifestyle habits was administered to determine factors potentially affecting vitamin D levels. Findings were contrasted to a similar comparison in 26 Caucasian and Hispanic (C/H) subjects with CLE and 24 normal C/H subjects matched by age, sex and season., Results: We found similar mean±SD 25-OH vitamin D levels in AA subjects with CLE (52·0±18·5nmolL(-1) ) and normal AA subjects (54·8±21·2 nmolL(-1) ) (P=0·62). Almost half of AA subjects in both groups were vitamin D insufficient. A larger difference in 25-OH vitamin D levels was found between C/H subjects with CLE (59·4±21·0nmolL(-1) ) and normal C/H subjects (70·5±27·4nmolL(-1) ) (P=0·12). Two-way anova demonstrated that skin colour (AA vs. C/H) had a significant effect on 25-OH vitamin D levels (P=0·008), although CLE status (CLE vs. normal) did not (P=0·13)., Conclusions: Providers are encouraged to address vitamin D insufficiency concerns in all dark-skinned individuals. Future studies should stratify subjects by skin colour in determining differences between subjects with CLE and normal controls., (© 2011 The Authors. BJD © 2011 British Association of Dermatologists.)