Erythroderma : 14 years study at Songklanagarind Hospital

Kanokphorn Chiratikarnwong, D. of Internal Medicine, F. of Medicine, PSU.
E-mail : ckanokph@ratree.psu.ac.th

Published : Songkla Med J 2000, 18(1) : 31-36
Key words : erythroderma, exfoliative dermatitis

Erythroderma may result from many different causes. There are many publications on this subject from many countries, with most of them reporting a different incidence of each etiologic group. Our objective is to study the etiology and clinical course of erythroderma in the past 14 years at Songklanagarind Hospital. We reviewed the clinical, laboratory and biopsy materials of 39 patients diagnosed with erythroderma who were treated in our department in 1985-1998. The male-female ratio was 2.25 : 1. The mean age at diagnosis was 53.69 years. The most common causative factors were pre-existing dermatoses (38%) and drugs (23%). Drug-induced erythroderma had an acute onset and a good prognosis with rapid resolution when the causative drug was withdrawn. Histologic di-agnosis was helpful in establishing a final diagnosis in 12 of the 18 patients (67%) on whom cutaneous biopsies were performed. Close follow-up and several skin biopsies at different times for those cases of protracted erythroderma with no clear cause will allow us to identify the causes of erythroderma in the undetermined group.

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