Pyoderma gangrenosum: an Indian perspective.
BACKGROUND
Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon, idiopathic, neutrophilic skin disease sometimes associated with systemic diseases. To our knowledge, there have been no case series of PG reported from India.


OBJECTIVE
To study the clinical features, associated systemic diseases and treatment methods in our case series.


METHODS
In total, 18 cases of PG diagnosed at our institution in Mangalore were evaluated in a prospective study.


RESULTS
Ulcerative PG was the most common variant, seen in all except one case. Paediatric patients constituted less than a quarter (27.77%) of the patients. Systemic diseases were associated with the disease in over half of the patients (55.55%). The pathergy test was positive in seven patients (38.88%), and all but one had associated systemic disease. Corticosteroids were mainly used for management.


CONCLUSIONS
PG is a rare disease in India, but paediatric PG cases were relatively common. Ulcerative PG was the commonest type, and over half of the patients had associated systemic diseases. There were a significant number of patients with associated systemic disease who had a positive pathergy test.
Department of Dermatology, Fr Muller Medical College, Mangalore, India. rameshderma@yahoo.com
R M
RM
Bhat
B
B
Nandakishore
F F
FF
Sequeira
D
D
Sukumar
G H
GH
Kamath
J
J
Martis
S
S
Furtado
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001168:Arthritis / Q000150:complications; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009196:Myeloproliferative Disorders / Q000150:complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017511:Pyoderma Gangrenosum / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents