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CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2019; 46(06): 566-571
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2019.00290
Original Article

Earwax of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa: A retrospective study

Yuka Shibuya 
Department of Plastic Surgery, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
,
Daichi Morioka 
Department of Plastic Surgery, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
,
Misako Nomura 
Department of Plastic Surgery, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
,
Zhuo Zhang 
Department of Plastic Surgery, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
,
Hiroki Utsunomiya 
Department of Plastic Surgery, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
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Background In Western nations, hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) typically affects the apocrine gland-bearing skin of people of African origin, women, smokers, and individuals with obesity. The clinical characteristics of HS in Korea and Japan, however, are reportedly different from those in the West. We therefore hypothesized that wet earwax is associated with HS because most East Asian people are genetically predisposed to produce dry earwax.

Methods The medical charts of 53 Japanese patients with HS were reviewed retrospectively.

Results Unlike the results of surveys conducted in Western nations, most of our patients were men (72%), whose buttocks were the most commonly affected site. Apocrine gland-bearing areas, such as the axilla, were affected less often. The proportion of HS patients with wet earwax was 51%, which was substantially higher than that found in the general Japanese population. Moreover, when patients with gluteal HS were excluded, the proportion of patients with wet earwax became even higher (68%).

Conclusions Although the etiology of HS is unknown, our survey indicated that HS in apocrine gland-bearing skin, such as the axillary and anogenital areas, may be associated with wet earwax. As this study was conducted in a limited clinical setting, a nationwide, multicenter survey is warranted to clarify the clinical characteristics of HS in Japan.

Keywords

Apocrine gland - Cerumen - Hidradenitis suppurativa - Medical chart review - Race factors


Publication History

Received: 24 February 2019

Accepted: 19 September 2019

Article published online:
25 March 2022

© 2019. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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