Anterior chest wall involvement in patients with pustulosis palmoplantaris

With the aim of determining the frequency and radiographic features of anterior chest wall involvement in patients with pustulosis palmoplantaris, a questionnaire was sent to 107 patients. Ninety-three patients returned the questionnaire, five of whom were excluded from further analysis due to the appearance of psoriatic lesions. Twenty-five (28%) of the remaining 88 patients reported pain and/or swelling of joints or bones in the anterior chest wall. All were examined radiographically, using tomography, and a group of 20 patients without anterior chest wall complaints were examined similarly. Sixteen of the patients with, but none of the patients without, complaints were found to have arthro-osteitis of the anterior chest wall, consisting of diffuse sclerosis of the manubrium sterni in one patient, localized sclerosis in seven patients, and sequelae of arthritis of the sternoclavicular, upper sternocostal and/or manubriosternal joint in eight patients.