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Diphtheria of the skin is a rare descent that typically occurs in inhabitants of tropical regions. It is caused by coryneform diphtheria. Systemic antibiotics such as penicillin are used to treat the disease.
What is skin diphtheria?
Diphtheria of the skin is an infection of the skin caused by coryneform diphtheria. It is a rare condition affecting mainly people living in tropical regions.
Causes of skin diphtheria
The cause of skin infection is corynebacterium diphtheriae, the most common type of mitis. In turn, the door of infection is the skin – damaged or not. Bacteria get there as a result of hetero- or autoinoculation from the natural habitat of the pharyngeal mucosa.
Diphtheria of the skin – symptoms
- Primary diphtheria (bacteria are implanted into healthy skin) develops a sharply delineated, hard, yellow-colored bottom ulcer.
- In secondary diphtheria, a hard-to-heal ulcer is formed at the site of a pre-existing infected wound.
Diphtheria diagnosis of the skin
Direct preparations stained with the Gram method and inoculation on Loeffler medium are used for diagnosis – both tests are performed simultaneously for skin and throat lesions.
Diphtheria of the skin – treatment
The methods of treating diphtheria of the skin include diphtheria antitoxin (after finding a negative skin test result) and antibiotics in general (penicillin, erythromycin) for two weeks, local disinfection of the disease focus. Diphtheria is subject to notification and registration, and patients and their surroundings must undergo a sanitary and epidemiological regime.
Lit.: [1] Lee P.L., Lemos B., O’Brien S.H. i wsp.: Cutaneous diphtheroid infection and review of other cutaneous Gram-positive Bacillus infections. Cutis 2007, 79(5); 371-7. [2] Pandit N., Yeshwanth M.: Cutaneous diphtheria in a child. Int J Dermatol 1999, 38(4); 298-9.
Source: A. Kaszuba, Z. Adamski: “Lexicon of dermatology”; XNUMXst edition, Czelej Publishing House