Antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from skin lesions in children. A retrospective analysis from a tertiary care Italian pediatric hospital

Antibiotic susceptibility of S. aureus was retrospectively assessed in 1833 strains isolated from skin lesions observed in an Italian tertiary care hospital. Methicillin resistance was more frequent in outpatients than in inpatients (18% vs. 14%, p = 0.04) as well as resistance to cotrimoxazole (8% vs. 4.1%, p < 0.001). Resistance to ampicillin was 99% in both groups, while for clindamycin it was 11% and 14%, respectively. Among topical antibiotics fusidic acid showed the better resistance profile (3%). Antibiotic resistance in pediatric skin infection in outpatients could represent a therapeutic problem in Italy.

Asymmetric cavernous sinus enlargement: a novel finding in Sturge-Weber syndrome

PURPOSE

Enlargement of deep cerebral veins and choroid plexus engorgement are frequently reported in Sturge-Weber syndrome. We aim to describe cavernous sinus involvement in patients with this syndrome and to identify possible clinical-neuroimaging correlations.

METHODS

Sixty patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome (31 females, mean age 4.5 years) and 120 age/sex-matched controls were included in this retrospective study. We performed a visual analysis to identify patients with asymmetric cavernous sinus enlargement. Then, we measured on axial T2WI the left (A), right (B), and bilateral (LL) transverse diameters of the cavernous sinus. We calculated the module of the difference |A-B| and the cavernous sinus asymmetry index as the ratio |A-B|/LL. Differences among groups were assessed by Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Clinicoradiological associations were evaluated by Fisher exact test.

RESULTS

We found seven subjects (11.6%) with asymmetric CS enlargement. The |A-B| and cavernous sinus asymmetry index were higher in patients with asymmetric CS enlargement compared with controls and patients without visible CS abnormalities (p_B < 0.05). Asymmetric CS enlargement was always ipsilateral to facial port-wine stains (7/7), and, when present, to leptomeningeal vascular malformations (4/7). It was significantly associated with ipsilateral bone marrow changes (p = 0.013) and dilated veins (p = 0.002). Together with brain atrophy and deep venous dilatation, this sign was associated with neurological deficits (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

We expanded the spectrum of venous abnormalities in SWS, showing the presence of asymmetric cavernous sinus enlargement in more than one tenth of patients, likely related to increased venous drainage.

Thalidomide-induced granuloma annulare

Granuloma annulare (GA) is an acquired, usually self-limiting, asymptomatic granulomatous skin disease with well recognized clinical and histological features that occurs in children and adults generally before the age of 30. Five clinical types are described including the localized, generalized, subcutaneous, perforating, and patch forms. The possible role of immune dysregulation has been pointed out in the pathogenesis of GA, as it has been reported in association with several diseases and conditions like diabetes, thyroid diseases, malignancies, tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency, Epstein Barr and hepatitis C virus infection. Drug-induced GA is a rare presentation, that can appear similar or identical to idiopathic GA. We present a 75-year-old Caucasian man with a violaceous ring-like firm, papular eruption, localized on the dorsal aspect of both hands, with histological features of GA, which subsequently resolved with the discontinuation of thalidomide he had started 1 month earlier for the treatment of a multiple myeloma. The lesions appeared with renewed intensity after resuming a therapy cycle. Jones's algorithm for the diagnosis of adverse drug reactions (ADR) showed a certain association, thus the final diagnosis of thalidomide-induced GA was made.