Infectious Disease

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Cutaneous Horn

Cutaneous horn is a descriptive rather than diagnostic term that refers to horn projections of tissue that are caused by a variety of neoplasms, including actinic keratosis, warts, Bowen disease, granular cell tumors, Paget disease, sebaceous neoplasms, basal and squamous cell carcinoma, and seborrheic keratosis.

NEW YORK -- HIV patients should not take drug holidays. That's the unambiguous warning emerging from the randomized Strategies for Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (SMART) study.

I enjoyed Dr Henry Schneiderman’s “What’s Your Diagnosis?” case of an elderly woman with severe facial ecchymoses from a fall. Would Dr Schneiderman elaborate on several points about that case? This woman did not trip or complain of dizziness before she fell. What caused her to fall?

A 52-year-old man presented to his primary care physician with shortness of breath for 5 days, right-sided lower thoracic back pain, and dry cough. The patient was a 15-pack-year cigarette smoker who had emigrated from China to the United States in 1989. He had no significant history of occupational exposure or tuberculosis. He had no significant weight loss, and his past medical history was otherwise unremarkable.

Excessive sweating, or hyperhidrosis, can be primary or secondary. Cardiac disease can cause hyperhidrosis. If the results of his laboratory workup are normal and he does not show evidence of leukemia, lymphoma, infection, or diabetes, then I would try treating him for primary hyperhidrosis.

ABSTRACT: Painful recurrent ulceration of gingival tissue suggests a secondary intraoral presentation of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. Unlike the lesions of HSV, lesions associated with coxsackievirus do not erupt in the anterior mouth but rather on the soft palate and pharynx. Furthermore, unlike HSV infection, coxsackie infections may recur, because there is considerable viral variation. Patients with atrophic or erythematous candidiasis report burning pain and a metallic taste. The typical patient with benign mucous membrane pemphigoid is a woman older than 50 years; the condition usually involves the attached gingiva around the teeth. The lesions of erythema multiforme may erupt on any intraoral mucosa; biopsy may be required to rule out other conditions with similar presentations.

A 49-year-old man presents with recurring facial pain of 6 months' duration. The pain initially occurred several times per week; it now occurs as often as several times per day. The paroxysmal pain is intense and incapacitating but abates within several minutes. It occurs in the right maxillary region and lower jaw and is sharp and lancinating. Hard chewing and teeth cleaning are the usual precipitating events. Between episodes, the patient is asymptomatic, without numbness or deficit in the affected region.

The association between asthma and pneumococcal disease has been suspected by many clinicians; however, formal investigations confirming an increased risk of pneumococcal disease in patients with asthma are rare.

During a routine checkup, a middle-aged woman asks you whether she should stop wearing moisturizers and makeup that contain sunscreen. She has read that increased sunlight exposure enhances vitamin D production, which may prevent certain types of cancer. What would you tell her?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The cyclooxygenase inhibitors -- including aspirin as well as Celebrex (celecoxib) -- may reduce the antibody-producing effect of vaccines, making them less useful in preventing disease, according to researchers here.

RENNES, France -- HIV can infect immune cells in the testis and produce infectious viral particles that, in turn, can re-infect cells in the blood, according to French researchers.

ATLANTA -- The seasonal flu season is here, but tell that to the viruses. The quixotic little pathogens haven't yet flexed their muscles in earnest, according to the CDC.

ATHENS, Greece -- For critical care patients, ultrasound-guided catheterization of the internal jugular vein proved quicker, easier, and safer than the traditional landmark-guided method, researchers here reported.

ST. LOUIS -- High-risk kidney transplant recipients had a lower rate of acute rejection and severe rejection episodes when they received induction therapy with Thymoglobulin (rabbit antithymocyte globulin) compared with Simulect (basiliximab).