Table of Contents  
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Year : 2015  |  Volume : 8  |  Issue : 4  |  Page : 576-577  

Usual clinical patterns of molluscum contagiosum in three different patient population


Department of Dermatology, Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College and Hospital, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Date of Web Publication14-Jul-2015

Correspondence Address:
Meenakshi Wadhokar
Department of Dermatology, Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College and Hospital, Queenstown Society, M-704, Behind Chinchwad Railway Station, Chinchwad, Pune - 411 033, Maharashtra
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/0975-2870.160798

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How to cite this article:
Sharma YK, Dash K, Virmani N, Wadhokar M. Usual clinical patterns of molluscum contagiosum in three different patient population. Med J DY Patil Univ 2015;8:576-7

How to cite this URL:
Sharma YK, Dash K, Virmani N, Wadhokar M. Usual clinical patterns of molluscum contagiosum in three different patient population. Med J DY Patil Univ [serial online] 2015 [cited 2024 Mar 29];8:576-7. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/mjdy/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?2015/8/4/576/160798

Sir,

Two recent case reports featuring molluscum contagiosum [1],[2] in your esteemed journal had interested the first two of us to write a letter [3] to you regarding the usual location of this dermatophilic poxvirus and motivates us now to send the representative clinical images of its three disease patterns in three different patient population: Children, most common site face; in the sexually active immunocompetent adults, most common site external genitalia; the patients of HIV/immunosuppression, multiple facial mollusca.

Usually occurring in children, peaking at 3-10 years of age, generally over face, neck, axillae, etc., [Figure 1]a] and becoming widespread in those with atopic dermatitis, mollusca are generally self-limited. In this population, watchful, waiting over months to years leads to spontaneous resolution; where required, repeated local application of 5% KOH precludes pain. Its flesh colored smooth umbilicated shiny papules, usually of 2-10 mm diameter, are labeled 'giant' when above 1cm. Though mollusca can get inoculated on the genitals of children, such lesions in adults are sexually acquired [Figure 1]b]. Giant, polypoidal, multiple, facial mollusca necessitate exclusion of HIV/immunosuppression [Figure 1]c] and use of systemic immunomodulators (oral cidofovir/cimetidine, subcutaneous interferon alpha, etc.) as in such cases even repeated attempts at destruction - using various chemicals, cryotherapy, liquid nitrogen or curettage - do not eliminate the virus but causes unnecessary pain and postinflammatory changes. [4]
Figure 1: (a) Flesh colored, smooth, umbilicated, shiny papules of 2-8 mm diameter on the face of child (b) similar lesions on external genitalia of a sexually active male (c) similar lesions interspersed with multiple giant mollusca over face of a female, seropositive for HIV

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  References Top

1.
Srikanth S, Anandam G, Kumari BS, Sreelatha K, Suhela R. Molluscum contagiosum: Study of four cases. Med J DY Patil Univ 2014;7:366-8.  Back to cited text no. 1
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2.
Patvekar MA, Dev S, Rizvi A, Malhotra R. Histoid leprosy in type II reaction with neural abscess: Treated with ulnar nerve decompression and anterior transposition. Med J DY Patil Univ 2014;7:392-5.  Back to cited text no. 2
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3.
Sharma YK, Dash KN. Remarks regarding case reports "Molluscum contagiosum: Study of four cases" and "Histoid leprosy in type II reaction with neural abscess: Treated with ulnar nerve decompression and anterior transposition". Med J DY Patil Univ 2014;7:689-90.  Back to cited text no. 3
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4.
Piggott C, Friedlander SF, Tom W. Poxvirus infections. In: Goldsmith LA, Katz SI, Gilcherst BA, Paller AS, Lefeell DJ, Wolff K, editors. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 8 th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2012. p. 2417-20.  Back to cited text no. 4
    


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