Louise Gagnon

It's not uncommon for elderly patients to have co-morbid conditions and be taking several medications, a fact that wound care practitioners and other clinicians need to be aware of. Drugs such as urinary incontinence medications and benzodiazepines have anti-cholingeric effects that can diminish cognitive functioning and, particularly with benzodiazepines, increase drowsiness, putting the elderly at increased risk of falling and developing a trauma such as a leg ulcer. If elderly patients fall more than twice, wound care practitioners should refer elderly patients to a geriatrician. Elderly patients may also have conditions like depression or dementia that affects their ability to adhere to therapy. In such cases, referral to a geriatric psychiatrist is warranted.

Forty percent to 75 percent of cases of diaper dermatitis lasting three or more days are complicated by documented candidiasis.

Many of the new treatments on the market are not distinctive in their key ingredients, but represent a new formulation or vehicle of an available agent.

Humans can contract canine scabies from direct contact with animals such as cats, dogs, foxes, cows, pigs and other mammals.

Because the condition is rare, there is no one standard medication that is administered.

Dr. White says the devices are being studied in diabetic wound healing, and that thus far, the results suggest that the use of light devices speed up healing.

National report - Many skin conditions are a manifestation of an insult to the skin barrier, so an awareness of that barrier, what affects it and how, is imperative for a physician to effectively manage his or her dermatologic patients.

San Francisco - With a host of fillers and ablative techniques available to dermatologists, clinicians should exercise a variety of options to meet the short-term and long-term goals of their patients who want to treat their aging skin.

Washington, D.C. - Hair transplants can appear very natural now that they can be performed using micrografts and natural follicular grouping that occurs in the scalp, according to Marc R. Avram, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Bethesda, Md. - Dermatologists need to become experts themselves in evaluating hair loss so they can more rapidly diagnose their patients and inform them of available treatment options, according to Dr. Leonard Sperling, chair of the department of dermatology at Uniformed Services University here, and a professor of dermatology and pathology.

New Orleans - Phosphatidylcholine has proven effective in removing excess fat in eyelid pads, according to research presented at the joint meeting of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) and the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology (ACMMSCO) here last month.

New Orleans - There is little risk of perichondritis or chondritis when auricular cartilage and skin are used for reconstructive procedures, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery and the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology.

San Diego - The most current data from an open label trial show that hydroquinone 4 percent with retinol is an effective and safe option to treat melasma and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, according to Pearl Grimes, M.D., the study's principal investigator.

Ottawa - Dermatologists have a responsibility to sensitize patients to the risks that temporary tattoos and body piercing pose, according to Dr. Ronald Brancaccio, clinical professor of dermatology at New York University School of Medicine, who presented here at the annual scientific meeting of the Canadian Dermatology Association.

Ottawa - Ethical issues in medicine are not that different across practice specialties, and ultimately, physicians should be acting with the interests of their patients first and foremost, according to a professor in the department of dermatology and the departmental chair at Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Ariz.