Premium
DIFFUSE INTRAEPIDERMAL DEPOSITION OF IMMUNOREACTANTS ON DIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE: A CLUE TO THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF EPIDERMAL NECROLYSIS
Author(s) -
KING THEODORE,
HELM THOMAS N.,
VALENZUELA RAFAEL,
BERGFELD WILMA F.
Publication year - 1994
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.1365-4362.1994.tb02922.x
Subject(s) - toxic epidermal necrolysis , medicine , dermatology , pathology , erythroderma , skin biopsy , epidermis (zoology) , drug eruption , biopsy , drug , anatomy , psychiatry
Background . Toxic epidermal necrolysis is a distinctive disorder that is readily identified clinically and histologically in advanced cases. Early on, however, toxic epidermal necrolysis may be difficult to identify. Some consider fixed drug eruption a limited form of toxic epidermal necrolysis. Methods . Direct immunofluorescence was performed on biopsy material of erythematous skin lesions. Results . Diffuse deposition of immunoreactants in the midmalpighian layer was noted. This finding has not been encountered in other disorders studied in our immuno‐pathology laboratory. Conclusions . Diffuse immunoreactant deposition in the mid‐epidermis should suggest a diagnosis of epidermal necrolysis either from toxic epidermal necrolysis or fixed drug eruption. Additional cases will need to be assessed to document the usefulness of this pattern for prospective diagnosis.