Dermatology

he parents of a 16-year-old girl report that during the past several months, she has exhibited behavioral changes, irritability, increased anger, depression, and anxiety. The girl had previously been healthy, and there has been no recent illness or trauma.

A 15-month-old girl presents for evaluation of macrocephaly and unusual facial features. Her prenatal and natal history are unremarkable. The child is now developing normally after mild gross motor delays during the first 6 months of life. Mild scoliosis was noted on a babygram taken at 8 months during an evaluation for possible nonaccidental trauma.

A 9-year-old girl presented with these lesions on her face and extremities. The lesions, which had developed within the past 24 hours, were warm to the touch and only mildly pruritic. The child feels unwell with nonspecific complaints of malaise and lack of energy. Before this eruption, she had been healthy and had not been taking any medications.

A 10-month-old girl with a mass on left side of neck. Swelling first noticed by mother when child was 7 months old. The infant is eating well, thriving, and otherwise healthy.

This year's roundup looks at innovations in wound care, hand sanitizers, otoscopy, and vision screening. It also considers helpful online resources?and takes a peek into a virtual time capsule of technology.

The mother of a 3-year-old boy has brought him to the clinic for you to evaluate thinning of his scalp hair over the past month. She reports that the hair loss is occurring "all over" his scalp and that she has not noticed him scratching his scalp or pulling his hair. He was hospitalized four months ago for a rotavirus infection.

This asymptomatic plaque on the left cheek of a 12-year-old girl was not respondingto a cream that her physician had prescribed when the rash began.

A3-year-old boy was at home with his cousinwho was preparing for a fishing trip when afishhook accidentally became lodged in thedistal part of the child’s right middle finger(A).

A2¹⁄₂-year-old child is hospitalized with a 1-monthhistory of worsening persistent cough. She was initiallytreated with a 5-day course of oral amoxicillin, andher symptoms abated somewhat. However, for the pastweek, she has experienced high fever (temperatures upto 38.3°C [101°F]) and chills associated with right-sidedpleuritic chest pain.

Photoclinic: Cutaneous Calcinosis in a Child With Tertiary Hyperparathyroidism

The rate of melanoma among children and young adults rose dramatically between 1973 and 2001, according to a study in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "Between the years 1973 and 2001, the incidence of pediatric melanoma increased 2.9% per year and 46% per year of age," says John Strouse, MD, a pediatric oncologist and instructor in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University and author of the article.

Allergic diseases are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States and cost the health-care system more than $18 billion a year. But despite the seriousness suggested by these numbers, many people don't understand how deflating allergies can be to quality of life for patients and families, according to Mark Boguniewicz, MD, professor at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center.

ABSTRACT: Hypothermia is not limited to the northern states: people also die of hypothermia in other areas with milder climates. Infants, young adolescent boys, and inadequately dressed teens who abuse alcohol or illicit drugs are at highest risk for death secondary to hypothermia. The mildly hypothermic patient may appear fatigued and display persistent shivering, ataxia, clumsiness, confusion, tachypnea, and tachycardia. The child with moderate hypothermia will not be shivering; declining mental status may cause the freezing patient to remove clothing. An irregular heartbeat is likely at this stage. Severe hypothermia is marked by apnea, stupor, and coma. In a frostbitten patient, rapid rewarming of the affected area in warm water for 15 to 30 minutes is the first step. Potent analgesia is often necessary. After thawing, the frostbitten part is kept dry, warm, and loosely covered. With an adequate dose of common sense, the vast majority of deaths from cold injury can be prevented.

A 2-year-old boy was brought for evaluation of a rash and fever of 2 days' duration. He had atopic dermatitis since 6 months of age that was partially controlled with low-potency topical corticosteroids and emollients. His father reported that recently the facial dermatitis had worsened, with increased redness, pain, and some skin breakdown. The child's medical history was otherwise unremarkable. His mother had a history of "cold sores."

A 3-year-old boy presented with a pruritic perianal rash, rectal pain, and constipation of 3 weeks' duration. The child had initially been treated for pinworms by one of his caregivers.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's devastation in the Gulf Coast region, it is important for physicians in the United States to consider the infectious disease risks for children who have been displaced or who are still living in affected areas. These risks include infections acquired through ingestion of waterborne organisms; wound infections; lack of immunization continuity; and overcrowding, which increases the risk of respiratory or GI infections. In addition, problems will arise from disruption of therapy for select populations of children, such as those who are HIV-infected; those receiving immunosuppressive treatment; and those in need of continuous antibiotic prophylaxis, such as those who have sickle cell disease.

This black lesion had been present on the upper back of a 5-year-old girl since her birth. The lesion had gradually enlarged to its current size of 1.5 cm. In the past year, 3 satellite black macules had developed in the surrounding area.

This adolescent girl presents with painful purple papules that have developed on her toes. These papules are making it impossible for her to wear her "fashion" shoes to school in the late fall and early winter. She reports that her feet have been cold for as long as she can remember and that she is not bothered by it. She is otherwise healthy, takes no medications, and does not smoke.

This 12-month-old girl presented with a diffuse rash that was first noticed by the child's day-care provider a day earlier. A fever (temperature of 39.4°C [103°F]) subsequently developed.

Your patient is a 14-year-old boy who complains of bilateral foot pain of several weeks' duration. Sometimes, he tells you, the pain is so bad that he cannot bear weight and has to crawl from place to place. As you talk with him, you note that all 10 fingernails are abnormally thick and raised.

In a recent survey by the American Counseling Association (ACA), eight in 10 adolescent girls said that acne makes them feel embarrassed, unhappy, or less attractive. The survey, underwritten by Dermik Laboratories, polled 738 girls between 13 and 17 years old. Its goal was to raise public awareness of the impact of acne during important moments in a teenager's life.

What's Wrong With This Picture? Child With Appendicitis-like Symptoms

A 16-year-old girl presented with a painful rash on her hands and feet, and a sore throat. The rash, which "itched and burned," had appeared on her palms and soles a day earlier and had worsened overnight.

Some studies suggest that orally administered dapsone is effective for infections caused by spider bites (eg, brown recluse spiders) in dosages of 4 mg/kg/d for 3 days. Can dapsone be used in children and, if so, at what dosage?

While spending a month in Cuba, my travel companion experienced seabather's eruption (Figure), which was described by Drs Mary Sy and Gary Williams in their Photo Essay "The Dermatologic Perils of Swimming" (CONSULTANT FOR PEDIATRICIANS, July/August 2004, page 333). Fortunately, some Cuban onlookers knew how to treat this condition (referred to locally as "El Caribe"). After vinegar was applied to the eruption, the pruritus and burning diminished almost immediately.

During a neurologic evaluation for seizures, a 17-year-old boy with epilepsy was noted to have a deformity of both lower eyelids. According to the boy's mother, the deformity had been present since birth; it was not related to the patient's neurologic condition.