title: Case report of unilateral eosinophilic fasciitis in a Vietnamese woman.
abstract: Symmetric skin thickening of the limbs with deep fascial inflammation is the hallmark of eosinophilic fasciitis. We describe a woman who presented with unilateral progressive skin thickening. Examination of a full-thickness skin biopsy revealed an inflammatory process and fascial changes consistent with eosinophilic fasciitis. In contrast to other scleroderma mimics, eosinophilic fasciitis generally responds rapidly to glucocorticoid therapy. It is possible that unilateral eosinophilic fasciitis is under-recognized and can easily be misdiagnosed as another scleroderma variant if a full-thickness biopsy is not reviewed by a dermatopathologist. Recognition of this subtype of eosinophilic fasciitis is important given the profound differences in prognosis of eosinophilic fasciitis and other scleroderma variants.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA. danielro@musc.edu
authors.forename: Rodney S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.forename: Alan N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D005208:Fasciitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D011241:Prednisone