Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy: current status

Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy is a common benign dermatosis of pregnancy that was described in 1979 as an intensely pruritic urticarial cutaneous eruption. This is a well-defined clinical entity that mainly occurs in primigravidas in the third trimester, which resolves spontaneously or with delivery and is usually responsive to topical treatments. The aetiology of PUPPP is obscure. Histology is non-specific, but consistently shows mild lymphohistiocytic perivascular inflammatory infiltrate with a variable number of eosinophils. Immunofluorescent studies are negative. The maternal and fetal prognosis are generally unaffected, and the condition is usually responsive to topical corticosteroids and oral antihistamines.