title: Exfoliative erythroderma.
abstract: Exfoliative erythroderma refers to the skin that is diffusely red and inflamed with varying degrees and types of scaling. There are many causes of erythroderma, but the most common are exacerbations of an underlying skin disease, drug reactions and underlying malignancies. Erythroderma is a rare, potentially serious skin condition. Protein loss in the form of desquamation and exudation is significant, resulting in hypoproteinemia. Usually more than one skin biopsy should be done. Biopsy analysis is important to rule out cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Patients should be carefully evaluated for underlying disease. Erythroderma can represent a serious medical threat to the patient, and may require hospitalization. Various forms of exfoliative erythroderma are presented, considering the etiopathogenesis, physical findings, differential diagnosis and treatment.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Zagreb University Hospital Center and School of Medicine, Salata 4, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia. zdenkazoric@net.hr
authors.forename: Visnja
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Milavec-Puretić
authors.forename: Zdenka
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zorić
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zidanić
authors.forename: Ada
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Drcelić
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stajminger
mesh_terms: D003873:Dermatitis, Exfoliative / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans