Pyoderma gangrenosum with spleen involvement. Review of the literature and case report

Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare, ulcerative, destructive, non-infectious dermatologic disease and it is one clinical entity within the spectrum of neutrophilic dermatoses. Visceral involvement, manifesting as sterile neutrophilic infiltrates in sites other than skin and, is infrequent. Splenic involvement is very rare.

We present a case of a 58-year-old woman with pyoderma gangrenosum with spleen involvement and review all reports of similar cases.We have found nine reported cases, our case being the tenth.

Our review showed that spleen involvement in the course of pyoderma gangrenosum can occur at any age. It is slightly more frequent in men. An underlying or associated neutrophilic disorder is present in almost half of the patients. Skin manifestations were usually present before splenic involvement. In most cases the disese responds well to glucocorticosteroids.