title: Severe subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus presenting with generalized erythroderma and bullae.
abstract: A 31-year-old woman presented with progressive generalized erythroderma and bullae. Histologic evaluation revealed dyskeratosis and interface dermatitis with a paucity of infiltrate. Serologic evaluation revealed markedly elevated titer of Ro/SS-A and La/SS-B antibodies. Further workup revealed leukopenia. The generalized eruption cleared with prednisone. The patient later had the classic discrete lesions of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus develop. The erythrodermic and bullous presentation of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus is rare and requires a high index of suspicion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0592, USA. diya.mutasim@uc.edu
authors.forename: Diya F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Mutasim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001768:Blister / Q000209:etiology*; D003873:Dermatitis, Exfoliative / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D019085:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct; D006801:Humans; D008178:Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology