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Filter by:Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an under-recognized and debilitating disease. Patients suffer from recurring painful abscesses and scarring in their armpits, under the breasts, groin and other areas of the body. The cause of the disease is still unknown and common treatments are only sometimes effective. Overactivity of the immune system has been associated with HS and molecules that cause inflammation have been found in the skin from people with HS. Current therapies have long-term risks including antibiotic resistance and the investigators aim to find new safe and effective therapies for HS. Hydroxychloroquine is a medication that has been used safely in other diseases for many years. The investigators believe that hydroxychloroquine has the potential to improve HS through multiple mechanisms. Patients enrolled in this study will be treated with hydroxychloroquine for 6 months. The investigators also aim to look at the blood of patients with HS to look for inflammatory molecules that we could possibly target for the treatment of HS. Blood samples will be taken at baseline and following 6 months of treatment.
Superficial skin and soft tissue abscess are frequently managed by opening them up with a procedure called "incision and drainage". It is routine practice in the United States to place packing material inside the abscess cavity after opening them up, in order to promote better wound healing and limit abscess recurrence. However, this practice has never been systematically studied or proven to decrease complications or improve healing. Patients with wound packing usually return to the emergency room or practice setting for multiple "wound checks" and dressing/packing changes which lead to missed days from work or school and utilization of healthcare resources. This procedure can often be painful and may even require conscious sedation (and the risks entailed) especially in children. With rates of superficial skin and soft tissue abscesses on the rise, and emergency room resources being stretched, it is important to determine whether packing wounds is necessary or even advantageous to patients. This study is the first to systematically evaluate the efficacy of wound packing after superficial skin or soft tissue abscess incision and drainage in children. The investigators will be evaluating wound healing, complications, recurrence and pain associated with packing both short and long term. In addition, the investigators will also be evaluating the utility of bedside point-of-care ultrasound use in predicting the presence of pus inside the abscess cavity. This test may be useful to determine whether incision and drainage is necessary for an individual who has a skin infection that is suspicious for an abscess.