title: Clinicopathological and diagnostic characterization of confluent and reticulate papillomatosis of Gougerot and Carteaud: a retrospective study in a South-East Asian population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Confluent and reticulate papillomatosis of Gougerot and Carteaud (CRP) is a rare dermatological condition, which has not been reported widely in Asian populations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the clinicopathological and diagnostic features of CRP in a South-East Asian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of 29 patients accorded the diagnosis of CRP at the National Skin Centre, Singapore, from 1990 to 2011, were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The male to female ratio was 2.6:1. Eight patients were Indians. The mean age at the onset of skin eruptions was 29.1 years (range 16-55 years), while the mean duration was 19.9 months (range 0.5-120 months). CRP itself was the most common preliminary diagnosis. Fungal smears were negative in all 22 instances. All 29 patients had received a trial of antifungal therapy before being seen at our center. Antifungal therapy was repeated in three subjects, and the response was uniformly poor. Conversely, the treatment response with tetracyclines was excellent, yielding more than a 50% response in all 14 patients. Four patients suffered recurrence of CRP. According to the diagnostic criteria set forth by Davis et al., 25/29 patients (86.2%) and 19/29 patients (65.6%) fulfilled at least three and four criteria, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A predilection for male gender and Indian ethnicity were noted in our study. The diagnosis of CRP was often made clinically, and investigations were mainly ancillary. The treatment response was poor with antifungal agents but excellent with tetracyclines. The diagnostic criteria proposed by Davis et al. were found to be useful in our cohort of patients.
authors.affiliation: National Skin Centre, Mandalay Road, Singapore, 308205, Singapore, hwh1985@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Wei-Sheng
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Chong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010212:Papilloma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012846:Singapore; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology*; D013754:Tetracyclines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D013754:Tetracyclines