Perialar intertrigo in children and adolescents: A multicenter prospective study of 41 cases

We observed isolated cases of perialar intertrigo in children and teenagers that did not appear to correspond to any known clinical entity. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical features of this dermatosis and the clinical characteristics of the patients.

We conducted a prospective, multicenter cohort study in France from August 2017 to November 2019. All the patients under 18 years of age with chronic perinasal intertrigo were included. A standardized questionnaire detailing the clinical characteristics of the patients and the description of the intertrigo. If possible, a Wood's lamp examination of the intertrigo was done.

Forty-one patients were included (25 boys and 16 girls, average age: 12.1 years). Intertrigo was bilateral in 38 patients (93%). The majority of patients had no symptoms (54%). Pruritus was present in 39% of cases. Orange red follicular fluorescence was present in the perialar region on Wood's light examination in 78% of cases with active fluorescence. The presumptive diagnoses suggested by the investigators were acne (24.4%), seborrheic dermatitis (19.5%), rosacea (9.8%), psoriasis (9.8%) and perioral dermatitis (7.3%). No diagnosis was proposed in 22% of the cases.

We describe a previously undescribed clinical sign which is characterized by a chronic bilateral erythematous intertrigo located in the perialar region. It can be isolated or associated with various facial dermatoses.