title: Acute mastocytosis: a potential dermatologic emergency.
abstract: A comatose patient arrived at the emergency room with apnea and in shock after a grand mal seizure. A maculopapular rash, not initially observed, led to a diagnosis of cutaneous mastocytosis. Degranulation of the mast cells with massive histamine release had resulted in cardiovascular collapse. The authors follow a detailed report of this case history with a discussion of the diagnosis and treatment of the acute systemic stage of this potentially life-threatening illness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Charlton Memorial Hospital, Fall River, MA 02720.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kamajian
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Felix
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D003128:Coma / Q000209:etiology; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008415:Mastocytosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*