Skin Picking Disorder in a Woman with Polyarteritis Nodosa. Case Report

Excoriation (skin picking) disorder is included in the DSM-5 in the obsessive compulsive and related disorders category. It is defined as the recurrent urge to touch, scratch, scrape, scrub, rub, squeeze, bite or dig in the skin, leading to skin lesions. It is a rare disorder (1.4-5.4% of the population) and occurs mainly in women.

this article reports the case of a 31-year-old female patient, initially assessed by dermatology and orthopaedics for the presence of infected ulcerated lesions on her lower limbs, with other superficial lesions from scratching on her chest, arms, forearms, back and head. The patient also reported symptoms of anxiety, so was assessed by consultation-liaison psychiatry.

skin picking, normal behaviour in mammals, becomes pathological from a psychiatric point of view when it is repetitive and persistent, as in the case of excoriation disorder. In view of the reported relationship with the obsessive-compulsive spectrum, use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive behavioural therapy are recommended.