erythema nodosum

Published Online, 11 December 2007, www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1K419. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy: Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 127-130. DOI 10.1345/aph.1K419 © 2008 Harvey Whitney Books Company. ... OBJECTIVE: To report a case of simultaneous erythema nodosum ...

Background Erythema Nodosum Leprosum (ENL) is a serious complication of leprosy. It is normally treated with high dose steroids, but its recurrent nature leads to prolonged steroid usage and associated side effects. There is little evidence on the efficacy of alternative treatments for ENL, especially for patients who have become steroid resistant or have steroid side effects. These two pilot studies compare the efficacy and side effect profile of ciclosporin plus prednisolone against prednisolone alone in the treatment of patients with either new ENL or chronic and recurrent ENL. Methods and Results Thirteen patients with new ENL and twenty patients with chronic ENL were recruited into two double-blinded randomised controlled trials. Patients were randomised to receive ciclosporin and prednisolone or prednisolone treatment only. Patients with acute ENL had a delay of 16 weeks in the occurrence of ENL flare-up episode, with less severe flare-ups and decreased requirements for additi...

Leprosy reactions are a significant cause of morbidity in leprosy population. Erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) is an immunological complication affecting approximately 50% of patients with lepromatous leprosy (LL) and 10% of borderline lepromatous (BL) leprosy. ENL is associated with clinical features such as skin lesions, neuritis, arthritis, dactylitis, eye inflammation, osteitis, orchitis, lymphadenitis and nephritis. ENL is treated mainly with corticosteroids and corticosteroids are often required for extended periods of time which may lead to serious adverse effects. High mortality rate and increased morbidity associated with corticosteroid treatment of ENL has been reported. For improved and evidence-based treatment of ENL, documenting the systems affected by ENL is important. We report here the clinical features of ENL in a cohort of patients with acute ENL who were recruited for a clinico-pathological study before and after prednisolone treatment. A case-control study was per...

Erythema nodosum is the most common cause of inflammatory nodules secondary to septal panniculitis in the body. It may be observed as an isolated finding or in the context of a systemic disorder. We described herein a young lady with EN-like lesions on her shins finally diagnosed as gram-positive cocci multiloculated subcutaneous abscesses.

Erythema nodosum is the most common cause of inflammatory nodules secondary to septal panniculitis in the body. It may be observed as an isolated finding or in the context of a systemic disorder. We described herein a young lady with EN- like lesions on her shins finally diagnosed as gram-positive cocci multiloculated subcutaneous abscesses.

Crohn's disease is frequently associated with extraintestinal manifestations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of association between the development of extraintestinal manifestations, the clinical forms of Crohn's disease according to the Vienna Classification and to the presence of several potential risk factors of the disease. One hundred and seventy-three consecutive Crohn's disease patients were studied. Sex, smoking habits, previous Crohn's disease-related surgery, family history of Crohn's disease, steroid dependency, steroid resistance and the presence of at least one mutant allele in any of the three considered variants of CARD15 gene were considered as potential risk factors. The Vienna Classification was applied, and the presence of extraintestinal manifestations was evaluated. A total of 61 (35.3%) patients developed extraintestinal manifestations. They were more frequently seen in women than in men (41.1 vs. 26.7%), (odds ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval: 0.99-3.70; P=0.05) and in steroid-dependent patients than in steroid responders (61.1 vs. 28.5%), (odds ratio 3.94, 95% confidence interval: 1.83-8.49; P<0.01). No relationship was found in general between the extraintestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease and smoking habits, previous Crohn's disease-related surgery, a family history of Crohn's disease, steroid resistance and CARD15 mutations. Such relationships were, however, detected for some individual extraintestinal manifestations as between both smoking habits (odds ratio 9.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.15-71.66; P<0.05) and the G908R CARD15 mutation (odds ratio 4.76, 95% confidence interval: 1.11-20.43; P<0.05), respectively, and erythema nodosum. Patients with any colonic involvement of Crohn's disease (L2+L3) suffered from extraintestinal manifestations of the disease more frequently than patients without colonic involvement (42.7 vs. 25.9%, respectively; odds ratio 2.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-4.07; P<0.05). Female gender, steroid-dependency and colonic involvement are associated with the risk of developing extraintestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease.

Erythema Nodosum Leprosum (ENL) is a serious complication of leprosy. It is normally treated with high dose steroids, but its recurrent nature leads to prolonged steroid usage and associated side effects. There is little evidence on the efficacy of alternative treatments for ENL, especially for patients who have become steroid resistant or have steroid side effects. These two pilot studies compare the efficacy and side effect profile of ciclosporin plus prednisolone against prednisolone alone in the treatment of patients with either new ENL or chronic and recurrent ENL. Thirteen patients with new ENL and twenty patients with chronic ENL were recruited into two double-blinded randomised controlled trials. Patients were randomised to receive ciclosporin and prednisolone or prednisolone treatment only. Patients with acute ENL had a delay of 16 weeks in the occurrence of ENL flare-up episode, with less severe flare-ups and decreased requirements for additional prednisolone. Patients wit...

Leprosy affects skin and peripheral nerves, and acute inflammatory type 1 reactions (reversal reaction) can cause neurologic impairment and disabilities. Single skin lesion paucibacillary leprosy volunteers (N = 135) recruited in three Brazilian endemic regions, treated with single-dose rifampin, ofloxacin, and minocycline (ROM), were monitored for 3 years. Poor outcome was defined as type 1 reactions with or without neuritis. IgM anti-phenolic glycolipid I, histopathology, Mitsuda test, and Mycobacterium leprae DNA polymerase chain reaction (ML-PCR) were performed at baseline. chi(2) test, Kaplan-Meir curves, and Cox proportional hazards were applied. The majority of volunteers were adults with a mean age of 30.5 +/- 15.4 years; 44.4% were ML-PCR positive. During follow-up, 14.8% of the patients had a poor clinical outcome, classified as a type 1 reaction. Older age (> or = 40 years), ML-PCR positivity, and lesion size > 5 cm were associated with increased risk. In multivaria...

In non-endemic countries, leprosy, or Hansen's disease (HD), remains rare and is often underrecognized. Consequently, the literature is currently lacking in clinical descriptions of leprosy complications in the United States. Immune-mediated inflammatory states known as reactions are common complications of HD. Type 1 reactions are typical of borderline cases and occur in 30% of patients and present as swelling and inflammation of existing skin lesions, neuritis, and nerve dysfunction. Type 2 reactions are systemic events that occur at the lepromatous end of the disease spectrum, and typical symptoms include fever, arthralgias, neuritis, and classic painful erythematous skin nodules known as erythema nodosum leprosum. We report three patients with lepromatous leprosy seen at a U.S. HD clinic with complicated type 2 reactions. The differences in presentations and clinical courses highlight the complexity of the disease and the need for increased awareness of unique manifestations...

A 54-year-old woman complained of tender, non-pruritic plaques on both legs which had erupted 2 weeks earlier. These lesions were accompanied with arthralgia, weakness, and fever. No other symptoms suggesting infection were referred such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain or sore throat. Her past medical history revealed chronic hypertension, which was well controlled with enalapril 5 mg daily, and right mastectomy due to carcinoma 15 years earlier. Clinical examination revealed 7 cm to 10 cm diameter circumscript, infi ltrated, erythematous coalescent plaques on both legs. Some isolated papules were observed (Fig. 1). No lymphadenopathies were found. The maximum level of temperature reached was 39.4 oC. Pharyngeal swab was collected for bacteriological study, and no positive result was obtained.

Leprosy reactions are a significant cause of morbidity in leprosy population. Erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) is an immunological complication affecting approximately 50% of patients with lepromatous leprosy (LL) and 10% of borderline lepromatous (BL) leprosy. ENL is associated with clinical features such as skin lesions, neuritis, arthritis, dactylitis, eye inflammation, osteitis, orchitis, lymphadenitis and nephritis. ENL is treated mainly with corticosteroids and corticosteroids are often required for extended periods of time which may lead to serious adverse effects. High mortality rate and increased morbidity associated with corticosteroid treatment of ENL has been reported. For improved and evidence-based treatment of ENL, documenting the systems affected by ENL is important. We report here the clinical features of ENL in a cohort of patients with acute ENL who were recruited for a clinico-pathological study before and after prednisolone treatment. A case-control study was per...

To analyse patients presenting with acute inflammatory ankle arthritis from an aetiological standpoint; whether they had Löfgren's syndrome (acute presentation of sarcoidosis), or Poncet's disease (reactive arthritis due to tuberculosis infection). An additional objective was to establish a simple, practical yet optimal algorithm for diagnostic approach and management of such patients. The study included 18 patients from northern India presenting with isolated acute inflammatory ankle arthritis. A combination of complete clinical evaluation, Mantoux test and contrast-enhanced computerised tomography (CE-CT) of the chest was carried out and results analysed. Among 18 patients presenting as inflammatory ankle arthritis is was possible to classify 10 of them as Löfgren's syndrome all of whom had negative Mantoux test and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy without central necrosis. The other 8 patients could be classified as…

Erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) or Type-2 Lepra reaction is a manifestation of type III hypersensitivity response and usually occurs in certain cases of lepromatous and borderline lepromatous leprosy. It is usually generalized and evanescent, and responds well to oral corticosteroid therapy. Here we report an unusual case of persistent and localized ENL in a 19-year-old girl, which could be diagnosed with the aid of skin biopsy and histopathological examination.

Löfgren's syndrome is an acute form of sarcoidosis that mostly presents with erythema nodosum, periarticular ankle inflammation, arthritis, conjunctivitis, and unilateral or bilateral hilar or right paratracheal lymphadenopathy. Erythema nodosum is the most common cutaneous lesion in acute sarcoidosis, but it is histologically nonspecific, as it does not reveal sarcoidal granulomas upon microscopic examination. We present a case of a 57-year-old woman with acute onset of tender erythematous nodules on the calves, which were clinically erythema nodosum-like lesions. Histologic analysis revealed sarcoidal granulomas located in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue. Upon further work-up, the patient was found to have both pulmonary and ocular sarcoidosis. Based on this case, we recommend that all patients with erythema nodosum-like lesions undergo biopsy and further work-up for sarcoidosis is recommended in case of biopsy proven sarcoidal granulomas.

A 47-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with an eruption of 4 days' duration. The eruption started on the face, neck, and hands. Later, lesions appeared on the arms and legs, accompanied by arthralgia. She had a 9-day history of an upper ...

In this study, we investigated the clinical features, etiology, and also predictive factors of secondary erythema nodosum (EN) in patients with EN. A total of 100 patients (mean age: 37 years) diagnosed with EN between 1993 and 2004 in our clinic were included in the study prospectively. A skin biopsy was performed in 46 of the patients. Patients were considered to have secondary EN when an underlying condition was found, and to have primary EN when no such condition was found. For the diagnosis of the underlying diseases, the pertinent diagnostic criteria and/or diagnostic methods were used. Categorical and continuous variables were compared by using chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests respectively. Multiple regression analysis was applied to the significantly different variables. The majority of the patients were female (female/male: 6/1) and nearly half (47%) of the cases had a determined etiology. The leading etiology was poststreptococcal (11%), followed in decreasing order by ...

The panniculitides represent a group of heterogeneous inflammatory diseases that involve the subcutaneous fat. The specific diagnosis of these diseases requires histopathologic study because different panniculitides usually show the same clinical appearance, which consists of subcutaneous erythematous nodules on the lower extremities. However, the histopathologic study of panniculitis is difficult because of an inadequate clinicopathologic correlation, and the changing evolutionary nature of the lesions means that biopsy specimens are often taken from late-stage lesions, which results in nonspecific histopathologic findings. In addition, large-scalpel incisional biopsies are required. However, we believe that by obtaining appropriate biopsy specimens and with adequate clinicopathologic correlation, a specific diagnosis may be rendered in most cases of panniculitis. It must be accepted that all panniculitides are somewhat mixed because the inflammatory infiltrate involves both the septa and lobules; however, in general the differential diagnosis between a mostly septal and a mostly lobular panniculitis is straightforward at scanning magnification. Mostly septal panniculitides with vasculitis include leukocytoclastic vasculitis involving the small blood vessels of the septa; superficial thrombophlebitis resulting from inflammation and subsequent thrombosis of large veins of the septa; and cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa, which is a vasculitis involving arteries and arterioles of the septa of subcutaneous fat with few or no systemic manifestations. Often septal panniculitides with no vasculitis are the consequence of dermal inflammatory processes extending to the subcutaneous fat, such as necrobiosis lipoidica, scleroderma, subcutaneous granuloma annulare, rheumatoid nodule, and necrobiotic xanthogranuloma. However, in other cases, the inflammatory process is primarily located in the fibrous septa of the subcutis with or without involvement of the overlying dermis. The most frequently seen septal panniculitis is erythema nodosum, which, in fully developed lesions, is characterized histopathologically by Miescher's radial granulomas in the septa.

Leprosy is a chronic dermato-neurological disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae infection. In 2016, more than 200,000 new cases of leprosy were detected around the world, representing the most frequent cause of infectious irreversible deformities and disabilities. In the present work, we demonstrate a consistent procoagulant profile on 40 reactional and non-reactional multibacillary leprosy patients. A retrospective analysis in search of signs of coagulation abnormalities among 638 leprosy patients identified 35 leprosy patients (5.48%) which displayed a characteristic lipid-like clot formed between blood clot and serum during serum harvesting, herein named 'leprosum clot'. Most of these patients (n = 16, 45.7%) belonged to the lepromatous leprosy pole of the disease. In addition, formation of the leprosum clot was directly correlated with increased plasma levels of soluble tissue factor and von Willebrand factor. High performance thin layer chromatography demonstrated a hi...

Behçet's Disease is a chronic, systemic, relapsing disease, an occlusive vasculitis which is immune complex mediated. Ocular involvement is usually bilateral, often asymmetric, associated with the loss of visual functions. This case presentation is a way to reveal an uncommon debut and evolution of the pathology using diagnostic criteria for Behçet's Disease.