Infections and infestations affecting the nail
Eckart Haneke in Histopathology of the NailOnychopathology, 2017
Erysipelas is the main differential diagnosis. Seal finger is a mycoplasma infection seen in aquarium workers, veterinarians, and professionals working with seals; it is more painful than erysipeloid, but the erythema is less pronounced.81–84 Histopathology reveals perivascular infiltration with lymphocytes and plasma cells in the subcutaneous adipose tissue, and a few granulocytes without pus or necrosis. Fibrosis eventually takes place.85 Involved joints demonstrate a severe inflammatory reaction with chronic granulation tissue and scarring with destruction of the articular cartilage.86Vibrio vulnificus infection is commonly more acute and characterized by rapid spread of the infection with progressive necrosis of the tendon sheath, subcutaneous tissues, and the skin.87 A case of cutaneous diphtheria clinically similar to blistering erysipeloid involved the right fourth toe in a 50-year-old woman; the infection by nontoxin producing Corynebacterium diphtheriae was acquired in South Asia.88 Leishmaniasis of the finger was seen to resemble erysipeloid.89 Subacute parathion intoxication caused a red finger like in erysipeloid.90
Head and neck infections
S. Musheer Hussain, Paul White, Kim W Ah-See, Patrick Spielmann, Mary-Louise Montague in ENT Head & Neck Emergencies, 2018
Erysipelas and cellulitis are the most common skin and soft tissue infections requiring in-hospital treatment. Erysipelas is a superficial skin infection that does not involve the subcutaneous tissue. It has a typically raised, well demarcated and localised rash compared to cellulitis. Cellulitis involves both the dermis and the subcutaneous tissue. Clinically, it may be difficult to differentiate between these two conditions, and lately these are considered manifestations of the same condition. These are commonly caused by Streptococci and Staphylococci and are treated with antibiotics, but community-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a growing problem. In diabetics and patients with suppressed immunity, a deep-seated infection should always be kept in the differential diagnosis of a superficial skin infection.
Contagium Vivum
Sir Arthur Newsholme in Evolution of Preventive Medicine, 2015
Even Chas. Murchison (1830–1879) one of London’s greatest clinical teachers writing in 1873 (A Treatise on the Continued Fevers of Great Britain) was justified in the statement that there were “good grounds for believing that contagious fevers have occasionally an independent origin;” and in deprecating furthermore the view that “if a disease can once be proved to be contagious, it cannot possibly arise in any other way than by contagion.” Murchison, under whom the present writer worked as “clinical clerk,” was a man of consummate skill and judgment, and the following summation by him of evidence available up to 1873 may be accepted as an accurate judgment on then extant knowledge. The parasitic theory rests solely on analogy and is unsupported by facts. If all contagious diseases can arise in no other way than by contagion, their germs must be both omnipresent and indestructible by time. There are certain contagious diseases, such as erysipelas, pyœmia and puerperal fevers, whose origin de novo may be said to be a matter of almost daily observation, and which, in fact, we have almost the power of generating at will. For these reasons and others there are good grounds for believing that contagious fevers have occasionally an independent origin.
Quantile-specific heritability of serum growth factor concentrations
Published in Growth Factors, 2021
Erysipelas is an acute β-hemolytic streptococcus bacterial infection of the upper dermis and superficial lymphatic vessels of primarily the legs and face (Henningham et al. 2015). Superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) is a mitochondrial antioxidant that prevents harmful effects of free radicals. Emene et al. (2017) reported that relative to recovery, CC homozygotes of the SOD2 rs11575993 (T2734C) polymorphism had significantly elevated HGF concentrations during the acute phase of erysipelas infections that were substantially reduced by treatment (Figure 4(D)). From the perspective of quantile expressivity, the substantially elevated HGF concentrations during the acute phase vis-à-vis recovery (322 versus 113 pg/ml) accentuated the HGF differences between SOD2 genotypes.
Benzathine penicillin G once-every-3-week prophylaxis for recurrent erysipelas a retrospective study of 132 patients
Published in Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2018
Erysipelas is common soft-tissue infection considered as a specific type of cellulitis caused mainly by β-hemolytic streptococci (1). By definition, erysipelas should involve superficial dermis and is typically characterized by a bright red indurated plaque with raised sharply margined borders and edema (2). The main burden of the disease are recurrences, which can appear up to 30% of the patients (3,4). These recurrences can lead to serious complications and also have a significant impact on the patient’s quality of life. The burden on the health system caused by the treatment of erysipelas recurrences and complications of relapses and their subsequent therapy, which include mainly the formation of secondary lymphedema is also considerable (5,6) The risk of recurrence of erysipelas is higher in patients with preexisting lymphedema and disruption of the skin barrier, which does not only include patients with venous leg ulcers and other chronic wounds, but also patients with various dermatoses and fungal infections (tinea pedis, onychomycosis) (7–11). Obese patients are also more prone to recurrences of erysipelas (8).
Minimally invasive isolated limb perfusion – technical details and initial outcome of a new treatment method for limb malignancies
Published in International Journal of Hyperthermia, 2018
Roger Olofsson Bagge, Per Carlson, Roya Razzazian, Christoffer Hansson, Anders Hjärpe, Jan Mattsson, Dimitrios Katsarelias
Four patients (67%) had a Wieberdink grade II reaction and two patients (33%) had a Wieberdink III reaction. No patient experienced any signs of systemic toxicity during the perioperative period. Patients stayed 4–6 h at a post-operative care unit and were then transferred to the surgical ward with a median hospital stay of 4.5 days (2–14). There were two postoperative complications. One patient developed erysipelas at the 2nd postoperative day with redness and swelling of the hand. He was treated with intravenous antibiotics but still had marked edema with reduced sensory and motoric nerve function which was attributed to his previously diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome. After 6 months, the nerve function was normalized (Clavien-Dindo grade II). One patient with an 11 cm large melanoma tumor in the popliteal fossa developed a tumor necrosis associated with fever and a sinus from the tumour to the skin, and was treated with intravenous antibiotics. However, after the tumor responded, the sinus was healed and the fever disappeared (Clavien-Dindo grade II). No wound complications related to the percutaneous catheter insertion were registered (Table 1).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Erysipelothrix Rhusiopathiae
- Fatigue
- Inflammation
- Lymphatic Vessel
- Erythema
- Cellulitis
- Streptococcus Pyogenes
- Erysipeloid
- Shivering
- Chills