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Background: Chemotherapy has increased survival rate in patients but is associated with systemic as well as cutaneous adverse effects. Among cutaneous adverse effects, nail changes caused by chemotherapy are often overlooked. But these changes are a major cause of cosmetic concern and negatively affect the quality of life (QoL) of patients. Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of chemotherapy-induced nail changes on QoL of patients with malignancy and to compare the severity of impact on QoL in various nail changes. Materials and Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional observational study was conducted for a period of 12 months. Only patients on chemotherapy who developed nail changes were included in the study. A nail-specific QoL questionnaire was used. Statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of nail changes on QoL. Results: The mean QoL score of 188 patients was 32.37 ± 7.9. The mean QoL score of females was more than that of males. QoL was statistically more significant in younger age groups [

Background: The nail changes caused by chemotherapy in cancer patients are difficult to assess and often overlooked by clinician. The present study was undertaken to study nail changes caused by various chemotherapeutic agents and various drug protocols most commonly associated with them. Materials and Method: Five hundred patients with malignancies receiving chemotherapy in the oncology ward and skin outpatient department were screened in this cross-sectional observational study from November 2018 to October 2019. Results: Nail changes due to chemotherapy were observed in 37.6% patients. The most common condition observed was melanonychia (84.04%), followed by half and half nails (6.91%), erythronychia (5.31%), longitudinal grooves (2.12%), leukonychia (2.12%), Mees’ lines (1.59%), Beau's lines (0.53%), pitting (0.53%), and subungual hyperkeratosis (0.53%). The usual protocol to cause melanonychia was platinum analogues + taxanes based combinations, half and half nails by platinum analogues + taxanes + 5 fluorouracil (5FU) based polypharmacy, and erythronychia by cisplatin-based adjuvants. Conclusion: The knowledge of the nail changes caused by chemotherapy will help in counseling of already worried patients with malignancy. It will also improve patient compliance and enrich the clinicians’ knowledge pertaining to chemotherapy-induced nail changes.

Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a vector borne disease caused by Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica. Bikaner is an endemic pocket for cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was done to evaluate the efficacy of different concentrations of intralesional amphotericin B as a treatment modality for cutaneous leishmaniasis in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India from January 2016 to June 2017. Fifty patients were randomized into two groups, A and B. Twenty-five patients from group A, received intralesionl amphotericin B (2.5 mg/ml) 0.5 ml/cm2, weekly for 8 weeks. Another group of 25 patients were treated by intralesional amphotericin B (5.0 mg/ml) weekly for same period. The cases were followed-up for response, side effects, and recurrence of disease. Results: The results at the end of 8 weeks, showed complete response in 18 (72%) patients, partial response in 5 (20%) and 2 (8%) patients were non responders in group A. In group B, complete response was observed in 14 (56%), partial response in 7 (28%) patients and 4 (16%) patients did not show response. The difference was statistically insignificant (P > 0.05). No side effects were observed in both groups. Conclusion: The difference between the efficacy of 5 mg/ml and 2.5 mg/ml concentrations of Amphotericin B injections was found to be statistically insignificant. So, weekly injections of amphotericin B looks promising, however, larger sample size is required to assess the efficacy of both concentrations in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.