Caregiver burden and related factors in caregivers of patients with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus

Clinical Rheumatology - Having a child with a chronic illness is a source of stress for the whole family, especially the primary caregiver. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations...     

Which dermatology patients attend to Dermatology Outpatient Clinics during the SARS‐CoV‐2 outbreak in Turkey and what happened to them?

Coronavirus disease, first emerged in Wuhan, rapidly spread all over the world since December 2019. There are concerns about elective dermatology appointments and its results. Herein, we aimed to find out which type of dermatologic patients attended to dermatology outpatient clinic. The patients visiting the clinics for elective dermatologic diseases between March 11 and 18, 2020, were included in this study. Their age, sex, diagnosis of disease, requirement for emergent intervention, and their medical records about COVID‐19 were obtained. There were 390 patients attending to the dermatology outpatient clinic in this period. The most common disease was acne (N: 94, 24%), only 19% of patients need emergent interventions or dose adjustment. There were 40 (10%) patients over the age of 65. After their visits, five patients were diagnosed as COVID‐19 in 2weeks. Dermatologic examinations may be a vector for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) transmission since being closed to the patient. Five of our patients were diagnosed as COVID‐19 after their elective visit to hospital. Since the asymptomatic course of some young patients, most of our patients were not screened for COVID‐19. Our findings support the concerns of elective physician examinations.     

The relationship between psychological symptoms,lung function and quality of life in children and adolescents with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis

Objectives

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between psychological symptoms and quality of life (QOL) and clinical variables in a cohort of children and adolescents with non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis.

Methods

Seventy-six patients (aged 8–17years) participated in this study. Questionnaires were used to evaluate the psychological status and QOL of the patients and healthy controls. The patient and control groups were divided into child and adolescent groups to exclude the effect of puberty on psychological status.

Results

No significant difference was found between patient and control groups for mean depression and trait anxiety scores. Only the child-rated physical health QOL scores were significantly lower for patients than the controls. Also, excepting physical health scores in adolescent group, all of the parent-rated QOL scores were significantly lower in both group and total subjects. Regarding determinants of QOL, age of children and FEV1/FVC percent predicted had positive effects, while dyspnea severity and trait anxiety had negative effects, for the sample as a whole.

Conclusions

Non-CF bronchiectasis is associated with poorer QOL in childhood. The impact of the disease on QOL occurs through both clinical and psychological variables.     

The Relationship of Psoriasis and Melanocytic Nevi

Background:There is limited data about the relationship between psoriasis and melanocytic lesions and melanoma. Immunologic pathways which were implicated in psoriasis induce a reduction in the number of melanocytic nevi.Methods:We performed a prospective study in 100 psoriatic patients and 100 controls. Clinical data were recorded for all participants.Results:As compared with controls, patients had overall fewer nevi congenital nevi. Among psoriatic patients, biologic agents and disease severity did not correlate with the number of nevi.Conclusions:Psoriatic patients have fewer nevi than controls. Frequency of nevi in psoriatic patients is not related to treatment and disease severity.     

A pediatric case of factitious disorder with unexplained bleeding symptoms

Factitious disorder is characterized by deliberate production or imitation of physical or psychological symptoms in order to adopt the sick role. The disorder can be seen as factitious bleeding. Factitious bleeding is a rare disorder in pediatric population. The concomitant appearance of hemoptysis and hematuria in the same patient has not been previously reported. In this case report, we present a pediatric case of factitious disorder with both hemoptysis and hematuria.