1,720,968 research outputs found
Pruritus ani: aetiologic and causative factor in 94 adult patients.
Full text linkOur study analyses data regarding 97 patients (56 females and 41 males; mean age: 50,1; range: 19-91) with a history of pruritus ani
with a duration of at least four weeks, who presented to our ambulatory care centre for anal and rectal disease, Surgical Division II - University of Padova. All patients were investigated for surgical and dermatologic diseases. Results show that in a patient suffering from pruritus ani there is an association with surgical anorectal conditions such as haemorrhoids, fissures, and mucosal prolapse as well as dermatologic inflammatory diseases such as eczematous dermatitis and psoriasis. This association is statistically significant (p < 0.05) and confirms that the presence of itch as a symptom common to these diseases. Key words: Pruritis ani; Dermatology; Dermatitis; Anorectal conditions
Knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases and condom use among female street workers in Padua
No full textOBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and condom use in a population of young female street sex workers from eastern Europe and other non-EU countries based in the Padua area (north-eastern Italy). To assess whether any aspects of their behavior might foster the spread of STDs.
STUDY DESIGN: Street sex workers (prostitutes) were approached on the streets or during non-STD medical appointments, their knowledge of STDs and condom use were evaluated. They were asked to answer an anonymous questionnaire comprising 16 questions.
RESULTS: 98 of them cooperated. Over one third of the sample frequently did not use a condom. This finding was inversely correlated with their age and educational level. Almost all the street sex workers were aware of AIDS but far less of other STDs. Most were almost totally unacquainted with some of them. We found a statistically significant correlation between condom use and their age, and between condom use and educational level.
CONCLUSIONS: Sex workers often engaged in unprotected intercourse with clients, they practiced their profession even in the presence of STD-related symptoms and did not use a condom during intercourse with non-paying partners or pimps. The irresponsible behavior of some Italian paying partners prepared to pay extra for unprotected sex, increases the risk of acquiring STDs. The intercourse with female street sex workers can be considered a risk behavior for contracting STDs
Eritema polimorfo,sindrome di Steven-Johnson, necrolisi tossica epidermica. Una revisione nosografica
No full text
Vulnerabilità psicosomatica: il prurito sine materia. Uno studio esplorativo sui correlati psicologici di 25 soggetti attraverso il Rorschach test
No full textThe aim of this paper is to investigate psychological correlates of a dermatological disorder which aetiology is almost unknown: this is the prurito sine-materia or idiopathic pruritus. We support that pruritus represents the somatic expression of a disease in vulnerable subjects lacking of psychological resources in coping with life in an adaptive way. We tried to find out if there were any personality differences, as revealed by the Rorschach Test, scored with the Exner Comprehensive System, between prurigo subjects coming from a Dermatological Clinic, and normative samples. The explorative study's first results highlight the presence of a vulnerable personality in specific areas: coping with stress, interpersonal relationship (in handling of hostility), and cognitive area
Sex hormone-binding globulin and saliva testosterone levels in men with androgenetic alopecia
No full textPenile chancre: an unusual presentation of cat-scratch disease
No full textCat-scratch disease (CSD) is an infectious disorder that begins in the skin but classically spreads to the adjacent lymph nodes. Bartonella henselae is the predominant but not the sole cause of CSD; in 1995, Clarridge et al. isolated a new Bartonella species.1 Bartonella species have been characterized as arthropod-transmitted haemotropic Gram-negative bacteria of small mammals, fish and birds. Human exposure to Bartonella occurs after contact with a cat.2 The micro-organism enters the skin through a scratch or previous site of injury.3–5 CSD begins with a papule or pustule that develops in 3–14 days along the initial scratch line. These papules and pustules typically develop within a few days of the scratch. This stage of disease is followed 5–50 days later by the development of a regional lymphadenopathy (> 90% of patients) in nodes proximal to the scratch. CSD is a self-limiting condition and normally resolves without treatment. Patients may have fever, headache and malaise but most patients generally feel well. A few patients with CSD demonstrate unusual presentations. They develop lesions in other locations that present more serious health concerns. Atypical manifestations of CSD include tonsillitis, encephalitis, cerebral arthritis, granulomatous hepatitis, osteolysis, pneumonia bacillary angiomatosis and oculoglandular syndrome of Parinaud.6,7 We describe an atypical presentation of CSD. A 40-year-old man presented a large painless erosion on the distal shaft of the penis, lymphadenopathy of both groins and axilla, fever (38 °C), headache and malaise (Fig. 1). The serologic tests specific for syphilis, hepatitis B and C, and human immunodeficiency virus were normal. Other causes of lymphadenopathy were negative, too. Laboratory tests indicated increased values of erythrosedimentation rate, white blood cell count, aspartate-aminotransferase and alanine-aminotransferase. Two to three days later, the chancre was resolved while suppurative lymphadenitis of the right groin appeared. The culture of the fine needle aspiration from the right groin lymph node was negative for fungal and bacterial infections. The histopathological examination of the surgical specimen showed architectural disarrangement with foci of necrosis in the paracortical zone, surrounded by a palisade of epithelioid histiocytes associated with epithelioid granulomas. Immunohistochemical analysis with monoclonal antibody (ABCAM 1 : 5) demonstrated occasional positivity in the cytoplasm of histiocytic epithelioid cell
Pruritus,prurigo and allergic contact sensitivity
Full text linkAim. The aim of this study was to make a new contribution to the subject of prurigo and pruritus sine materia with or with-out scratching-related lesions, and to assess any correlation with allergic contact sensitivity. Methods. The study was conducted on 104 patients with symp-toms of pruritus, excluding cases of definite dermatosis. After making a detailed anamnesis, the patients were administered a battery of biohumoral tests designed to establish their general state of health. Skin tests were performed if the patient’s medical history. Patients who were positive on the allergic contact lf sensitivity test were informed about methods of avoiding contact with the haptens concerned and were followed-up for at least 3 months. No medication was administered. Results. Thirty-seven of the S3 patients tested positive for allergic contact sensitivity. At the final check-up, 15 of the above 37 patients presented complete objective and subjective remission. Conclusion. Our study concludes with the finding that latent contact sensitivity dissociated from clinically overt allergic contact dermatitis was present in 70% of surveyed patients. We do not believe that this is a random association; rather, it is our opinion that subliminal or minimal, exogenous or endogenous exposure may elicit pruritus without actually triggering contact eczematous dermatitis. Hence, screening by the patch test for contact sensitivity may be helpful in correctly assessing some forms of pruritus and prurigo
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