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Background: Acne fulminans (AF) is a rare severe acne entity. Although occasionally reported, it is unclear whether AF development is associated with oral isotretinoin treatment. Objectives: To investigate the occurrence of isotretinoin‐associated AF, clinical characteristics and prognosis at follow‐up. Methods: An international, multicentre, retrospective study was performed in eight hospitals following the call of the EADV Task Force on Acne, Rosacea and Hidradenitis Suppurativa (ARHS). Characteristics of patients treated with isotretinoin before the development of AF (isotretinoin‐associated acne fulminans, IAF) were compared with non‐IAF (NAF). Results: Forty‐nine patients diagnosed with AF from 2008 to 2022 were included (mean age 16.4 years, SD 2.9, 77.6% male). Αrthralgias/arthritis occurred in 11 patients (22.9%). AF occurred without any previous acne treatment in 26.5% of the patients. Overall, 28 patients (57.1%) developed AF after oral isotretinoin intake (IAF group), while the remaining 21 patients (42.9%) developed AF without previous oral isotretinoin administration (NAF group). IAF occurred after a median duration of isotretinoin treatment of 45 days (IQR: 30, 90). Patients with IAF were more frequently male compared to patients with NAF (89.3% vs. 61.9%, respectively, p = 0.023). There were no differences in patients with IAF versus NAF in patient age, the duration of pre‐existing acne, a family history of AF, the distribution of AF lesions or the presence of systemic symptoms or arthralgias. Regarding the management of AF, patients with IAF were treated more frequently with prednisolone (96.2%) compared to those with NAF (70%; p = 0.033) and less frequently with isotretinoin (32.1%) compared to NAF (85.7%; p < 0.001). At a median follow‐up of 2.2 years, 76.4% of patients were free of AF and scarring was present in all patients. Conclusions: No specific clinical or demographic characteristics of IAF compared with NAF could be detected, a fact that does not support IAF as a district clinical entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease which can lead to a prolonged physical disability. HS diagnosis is exclusively clinical with the absence of biomarkers. Our study aims at assessing the HS‐diagnostic potential of infrared spectroscopy from saliva, as a biofluid reflecting the body's pathophysiological state. Infrared spectra from 127 patients (57 HS and 70 non‐HS) were processed by multivariate methods: principal component analysis coupled with Kruskal–Wallis or Mann–Whitney tests to identify discriminant spectral wavenumbers and linear discriminant analysis to evaluate the performances of HS‐diagnostic approach. Infrared features, mainly in the 1300 cm−1‐1600 cm−1 region, were identified as discriminant for HS and prediction models revealed diagnostic performances of about 80%. Tobacco and obesity, two main HS risk factors, do not seem to alter the infrared diagnosis. This pilot study shows the potential of salivary "liquid biopsy" associated to vibrational spectroscopy to develop a personalized medical approach for HS patients' management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2nd Annual Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances (SHSA) took place on 03‐05 November 2017 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. This symposium was a joint meeting of the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (HSF Inc.) founded in the USA, and the Canadian Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (CHSF). This was the second annual meeting of the SHSA with experts from different disciplines arriving from North America, Europe and Australia, in a joint aim to discuss most recent innovations, practical challenges and potential solutions to issues related in the management and care of Hidradenitis Suppurativa patients. The last session involved clinicians, patients and their families in an effort to educate them more about the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research by H. Ring and colleagues about the microbiology of hidradenitis suppurativa. Topics mentioned include the role of major skin pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes, in the pathophysiology of the disease, the preference of the hair follicle barrier disease to atypical soft tissue and skin infections, and the need to discover treatment strategies to limit the use of antibiotics to prevent resistance to bacteria.

The article presents cases of allergic contact dermatitis from nail polishes due to an original compound phthalic anhydride/trimellitic anhydride/glycols copolymer. Only patch testing to the patient's nail polish and the breakdown of the positive varnishes can show the responsibility of this particular allergen.