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This article explores a rare skin condition called cryptococcoid Sweet syndrome, which can be triggered by infection, cancer, or certain medications. The case discussed involves a patient who had previously used hydralazine and had a history of cocaine use. The article emphasizes the connection between hydralazine use and autoimmune disorders like Sweet syndrome. It also stresses the importance of distinguishing between true cryptococcosis and cryptococcoid Sweet syndrome, and calls for more research on this condition and its potential causes. [Extracted from the article]

When prescribing low-dose methotrexate, frequent serological testing is recommended in the dermatologic literature, although much of the supporting data is extrapolated from non-dermatologic conditions. We performed a retrospective cohort study to determine the cumulative incidence and timing of low-dose methotrexate-associated serological abnormalities over the first year of therapy, in a pragmatic cohort of patients with dermatologic compared to non-dermatologic diagnoses. Laboratory values recorded included white blood cell count, hemoglobin, platelet count, estimated glomerular filtration rate, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase. Among 1376 patients, there were no cases of methotrexate-associated grade 4/very severe lab abnormality or fatality. Baseline risk factors associated with moderate-to-severe lab abnormalities included non-dermatologic diagnoses, low hemoglobin, low estimated glomerular filtration rate, and elevated transaminases. The incidence of moderate-to-severe lab abnormalities was 4.4% among all patients, 3.1% among patients with dermatologic diagnoses, and 2.3% among patients with normal baseline lab values. Lab abnormalities led to discontinuation of therapy in 0.8% of patients. Serious changes did not occur in the first two weeks of therapy. We conclude that the cumulative incidence of low-dose methotrexate-associated lab abnormality was lower in patients with dermatologic diagnoses or normal baseline testing and these factors may be used to adjust monitoring practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patient experience surveys (PES) are collected by healthcare systems as a surrogate marker of quality and published unedited online for the purpose of transparency, but these surveys may reflect gender biases directed toward healthcare providers. This retrospective study evaluated PES at a single university hospital between July 2016 and June 2018. Surveys were stratified by overall provider rating and self-identified provider gender. Adjectives from free-text survey comments were extracted using natural language processing techniques and applied to a statistical machine learning model to identify descriptors predictive of provider gender. 109,994 surveys were collected, 17,395 contained free-text comments describing 687 unique providers. The mean overall rating between male (8.84, n = 8558) and female (8.80, n = 8837) providers did not differ (p = 0.149). However, highly-rated male providers were more often described for their agentic qualities using adjectives such as "informative," "forthright," "superior," and "utmost" (OR 1.48, p < 0.01)—whereas highly-rated female providers were more often described by their communal qualities through adjectives such as "empathetic," "sweet," "warm," "attentive," and "approachable" (OR 2.11, p < 0.0001). PES may contain gender stereotypes, raising questions about their impact on physicians and their validity as a quality metric which must be balanced with the need for unedited transparency. Future prospective studies are needed to further characterize this trend across geographically and racially diverse healthcare providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and capacitance are used in atopic dermatitis (AD) trials to provide objective data on clinical change and response to therapy. Many barrier devices are costly, limiting their utility. GPSkin is a novel low‐cost, patient‐operable device that measures both TEWL and capacitance via smartphone application. Objective: This validation study investigated the correlation of GPSkin with the AquaFlux and Corneometer, and the reliability of these devices, in patients with AD. Methods: Fifty AD patients with varying disease severity performed self‐measurements with GPSkin, while investigators collected data with all 3 devices, on both nonlesional and lesional skin. Conclusion: GPSkin and AquaFlux demonstrated strong correlation for TEWL on nonlesional and lesional skin by Spearman's correlation (rs), independent of device user. For capacitance, GPSkin and the Corneometer showed moderate correlation when obtained by patients, yet a strong correlation when obtained by a clinician. Despite good correlation, GPSkin showed poor agreement with both the AquaFlux and Corneometer in Bland‐Altman plots. GPSkin underestimated both TEWL and capacitance. Overall, the devices had good test‐retest reliability. None of the devices could discriminate between AD severity states. While GPSkin marks an exciting advancement in barrier technology, further study is needed for validation on AD skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five years after receiving her diagnoses of psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis, the patient developed psoriatic arthritis with enthesitis. With the advent of targeted pharmacological therapies, patients and physicians have found new hope for conditions previously recalcitrant to conventional therapies. We propose tofacitinib as a therapy for treatment-refractory patients. [Extracted from the article]

Trigeminal trophic syndrome is an uncommon condition characterized by paresthesia, itch, and selfinflicted wounds following the trigeminal dermatome(s). Similar processes adhering to cervical nerve distributions have been reported, calling into question the specificity of trigeminal trophic syndrome for the trigeminal network. Herein, we report patient with trigeminal trophic syndrome adhering to the C2 dermatome, a previously unreported distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case of a 15‐year‐old male patient with a 3‐year history of linear, segmental amyopathic dermatomyositis with calcinosis cutis is presented. The calcinosis was recalcitrant to treatment with topical steroids and hydroxychloroquine. Topical 10% sodium thiosulfate use for 8 weeks resulted in improvement. The use of topical sodium thiosulfate for patients in whom surgical extraction is not an option is detailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article present a case study of a healthy 2-month-old, full-term boy with a lifelong history of intermittent skin dimpling of the bilateral legs, with occasional involvement of the abdomen and cheeks. It mentions examination of the patient's skin revealed bilateral skin rippling of his dorsolateral thighs with full resolution; and also mentions there was no evidence of associated erythema, overlying hypertrichosis, or other dermatologic findings.