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ERYTHEMA NODOSUM VERSUS NODULAR VASCULITIS
Author(s) -
VICO MARIADOLORES SANZ,
DIEGO VICTOR,
YUS EVARISTO SÁNCHEZ
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
international journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-4632
pISSN - 0011-9059
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-4362.1993.tb01447.x
Subject(s) - medicine , panniculitis , erythema nodosum , histopathology , vasculitis , dermatology , pathology , erythema , disease
Background . Erythema nodosum ( en ) is usually considered to be a septal panniculitis, and nodular vasculitis ( nv ) a lobular panniculitis. We tested the usefulness of this histologic classification in clarifying a frequent clinical dilemma: en versus nv . Methods . Over 3 years 109 patients with panniculitis were included in this study. After a history and a physical examination, a clinical diagnosis was made according to well‐established criteria. Results . From the study of 88 patients, we concluded that in the clinically typical cases, the clinico‐pathologic agreement was 93% and 94% for en and nv respectively, whereas it diminished to 79%, 72%, and 67% in the cases clinically diagnosed as en migrans, atypical en , and atypical nv , respectively. Moreover, septal and lobular panniculitis were always two clear‐cut, different, opposite patterns of hypodermal inflammation to these conditions. Conclusions . In the absence of a known pathogenetic mechanism, the histopathology remains the most objective discriminating marker between en and nv , mainly in the clinically atypical and doubtful cases.