Atypical Pityriasis rosea in a black child: a case report

Pityriasis rosea is a self-limited inflammatory condition of the skin that mostly affects healthy children and adolescents. Atypical cases of Pityriasis rosea are fairly common and less readily recognized than typical eruptions, and may pose a diagnostic challenge.

We report the case of a 12-year-old black child that developed an intense pruritic papular eruption with intense facial involvement that was diagnosed of Pityriasis rosea and resolved after five weeks leaving a slight hyperpigmentation.

Facial and scalp involvement, post-inflammatory disorders of pigmentation and papular lesions are characteristics typically associated to black patients with Pityriasis rosea. The knowledge of features found more frequently in dark-skinned population may be helpful to physicians for diagnosing an atypical Pityriasis rosea in these patients.