CLINICAL CASES   

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2001 June;136(3):223-6

Copyright © 2001 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Generalized essential telangiectasia

Rosina P., Cunego S., Leoni A., Chieregato C.

Università degli Studi - Verona Sezione di Dermatologia e Venereologia Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Chirurgiche

Generalized essential telangiectasia (GET) is an uncommon and often misdiagnosed disease. It occurs usually in females in late childhood or early adult life. The GET is generally sporadic, but in the literature familial cases have been reported. This disease is usually asymptomatic and not associated with other skin or systemic diseases, even though recent studies report some associations with gastrointestinal bleeding and autoimmune diseases. It must be differentiated from other causes of telangiectases, especially from hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasis and telangiectasia macularis eruptiva perstans (mastocytosis), that can also have systemic involvement. Usually the therapy have no efficacy. The case of a 58-year-old male, barman, with a 3 year history of development of symptomless telangiectases of the skin is reported. The lesions were most evident on the upper legs and trunk. The familial and pathological anamnesis were negative. The physiological history revealed a moderate drink of alcohol. The patient was not alcoholist and the laboratory revealed only a small increment of GGT = 74 U/L. The other biohumoral indexes and markers of hepatitis were negative. EGDS, liver and upper abdomen ultrasonography and chest radiography were normal. This case is reported because of its rarity and the uncommon presentation in a middle age male.