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EMLA ® cream‐induced irritant contact dermatitis
Author(s) -
Dong Huiting,
Kerl Helmut,
Cerroni Lorenzo
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0560.2002.290312.x
Subject(s) - medicine , irritant contact dermatitis , dermatology , histopathology , dermis , erythema , edema , allergic contact dermatitis , spongiosis , pathology , contact dermatitis , surgery , allergy , immunology
Background: The Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics (EMLA ® cream) is a topical anesthetic used for providing pain relief in patients undergoing superficial surgical procedures. Cutaneous side‐effects have been reported rarely. Case Report: We present a case of irritant contact dermatitis induced by EMLA ® cream in a 6‐year‐old boy with Wiskott‐Aldrich syndrome. Our patient showed clinically a well circumscribed patch corresponding to the site of application of the topical anesthetic. Histopathology showed confluent necrosis of keratinocytes in the upper epidermis, a mixed inflammatory infiltrate with priminent neutrophils in the upper dermis, and focal signs of interface changes including basal cell vacuolization and subepidermal cleft formation. Conclusions: Graft‐vs.‐host‐disease (GVHD), necrolytic migratory erythema, dermatitis enteropathica and pellagra should be considered in the histopathologic differential diagnosis of acute contact dermatitis caused by EMLA ® .