Characteristics and Clinical Manifestations of Pigmented Purpuric Dermatosis

Pigmented purpuric dermatoses (PPD) are a spectrum of disorders characterized by a distinct purpuric rash. Although PPD can be easily diagnosed, the disease entity remains an enigma and a therapeutic challenge.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics and clinical manifestations of PPD and to elucidate the relationship between assumed etiologic factors and the clinical manifestations of PPD and treatment responses.

Retrograde analyses were performed to identify appropriate PPD patients who visited Korea University Medical Center Anam Hospital from 2002 to 2012.

Information on 113 patients with PPD was analyzed, and 38 subjects with skin biopsy were included for this study. Schamberg's disease was the most frequent clinical type (60.5%). Concomitant diseases included hypertension (15.8%), diabetes (10.5%), and others. Associated medication histories included statins (13.2%), beta blockers (10.5%), and others. Possibly associated etiologic factors were recent upper respiratory infection (5.3%), high orthostatic pressure due to prolonged standing (2.6%), and strenuous exercise (2.6%). A total of 36 patients (94.7%) were treated with one or more treatment methods, including oral antihistamines, pentoxifylline, topical steroids, and/or phototherapy. There was no significant difference in disease progress according to underlying diseases, medications, or association factors (p>0.05).

Our overall results were grossly consistent with the existing literature, excluding several findings. Although a possible relationship between PPD and cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular medication was proposed at the beginning of the study, no statistically significant correlations were found according to the specific clinical types and treatment responses (p>0.05).