Clinico-etiological study of 30 erythroderma cases from tertiary center in South India

BACKGROUND: Erythroderma is a morphological reaction pattern of skin having many underlying causes and finding the etiology helps in the proper management of erythroderma cases. AIM: To evaluate the clinical profile, etiology of erythroderma and to correlate clinical diagnosis with histopathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed at the department of dermatology, Father Muller Medical College and Hospital, Mangalore, South India. We studied 30 consecutive cases of erythroderma with respect to the epidemiological, clinical and histological data. Clinico-histological correlation was analyzed for etiology of erythroderma. RESULTS: The mean age of onset was 52.3 years with a male to female ratio of 14:1. In addition to erythroderma, other co-existent features included pruritus, fever, lymphadenopathy, and edema. Of the pre-existing dermatoses, psoriasis was the most common (33.3%) disease followed by eczema (20%), atopic dermatitis (6.6%), pityriasis rubra pilaris (3.3%) and drug-induced erythroderma (16.6%). In 16.6% of cases, etiology could not be ascertained. Clinico-histopathological correlation could be established in 73.3% of cases. CONCLUSION: Clinical features were identical irrespective of etiology. Detailed clinico-histopathological examination helps to establish the etiology of erythroderma.