Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy with systemic involvement

There is a growing literature regarding sclerotic and panniculitic cutaneous conditions seen in patients with end-stage renal disease (eg, calciphylaxis and soft tissue calcification). Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD) is a recent designation to describe cutaneous findings in patients with end-stage renal disease who developed sclerotic plaques with scleromyxedema-like histologic features. Soft tissue calcification is rare in patients with NFD and systemic involvement has not been reported.

We describe a patient with end-stage renal disease who developed diffuse indurated woody plaques consistent with NFD in association with soft tissue calcification with catastrophic sequelae. A deep excisional biopsy specimen from the patient revealed thickened collagen bundles in the reticular dermis, plump bipolar spindle cells, and increased mucin. Focally, there were zones of calcium deposition in dermal collagen without vessel calcification. Autopsy of the patient revealed extensive fibrosis and calcification of the diaphragm, psoas muscle, renal tubules, and rete testes. The patient died 11 months after developing NFD.

A subset of patients with NFD may have significant systemic involvement.