SUMMARY Erysipelatoid Carcinoma (EC), also known as Inflammatory Metastatic Carcinoma, is a rare form of cutaneous metastasis, secondary to an internal malignancy, more often related to breast cancer. Clinically, the lesion has a well-marked, bound erythematous appearance, much like an infectious process, such as erysipelas and cellulitis, these being the most common differential diagnoses. It is characterized by an acute or subacute appearance with an erythematous plaque, sometimes hot and painful, being more often situated in the primary tumor vicinity, especially in the thorax wall in the region of a mastectomy due to breast cancer. Here we present the case of a 75-year-old patient with ductal infiltrated carcinoma for 3 years, who presented an acute erythematous and infiltrated plaque in the region of a previous mastectomy, with a final diagnosis of EC.

Viruses are the major contributors to the morbidity and mortality of upper and lower acute respiratory infections (ARIs) for all age groups. The aim of this study was to determine the frequencies for a large range of respiratory viruses using a sensitive molecular detection technique in specimens from outpatients of all ages with ARIs. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were obtained from 162 individuals between August 2007-August 2009. Twenty-three pathogenic respiratory agents, 18 respiratory viruses and five bacteria were investigated using multiplex real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIF). Through IIF, 33 (20.4%) specimens with respiratory virus were recognised, with influenza virus representing over half of the positive samples. Through a multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay, 88 (54.3%) positive samples were detected; the most prevalent respiratory viral pathogens were influenza, human rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Six cases of viral co-detection were observed, mainly involving RSV. The use of multiplex real-time RT-PCR increased the viral detection by 33.9% and revealed a larger number of respiratory viruses implicated in ARI cases, including the most recently described respiratory viruses [human bocavirus, human metapneumovirus, influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 virus, human coronavirus (HCoV) NL63 and HCoV HKU1].