Severe chronic blepharitis and scarring ectropion associated with discoid lupus erythematosus

Discoid lupus erythematosus is a common form of chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects most of the human organs, including the skin, kidneys, joints, heart and lungs. We describe a 45-year-old Caucasian woman with a 21-year history of eyelid redness and irritation. She had been treated with antibiotics, steroids and eyelid hygiene, a therapy that resulted to brief periods of relief of symptoms. In the last 12 months, her symptoms seemed to have exacerbated, despite the administration of a local therapy. Following biopsy, a diagnosis of discoid lupus erythematosus was confirmed and the patient was placed on a systemic therapy with hydroxychloroquine. The eyelid inflammation decreased but severe scarring of the marginal eyelids persisted, resulting in cicatricial ectropion.