CLINICAL CASES   

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2004 June;139(3):251-7

Copyright © 2004 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. Localized variant with atypical location

Broganelli P., Chiaretta A., Giovannini E., Pippione M.

Department of Dermatology University of Turin, Turin, Italy

We report the case of a 77-year-old man with atrophic scars which had appeared in the last 12 years, always preceded by blisters or by epidermal detachment developing after mild traumas. These lesions were localized in the extensor part of his legs and were asymptomatic. Histological examination and direct immunofluorescence (DIF), performed on skin that had been fractured by incubating in 1M NaCl (DIF Salt-Split), confirmed the diagnosis of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA). The clinical features classify it as a localized variant. Other examinations made on the patient excluded a systemic involvement. EBA is a rare autoimmune blistering disease that usually begins in adulthood and can manifest itself in the classical presentation or, less often, in inflammatory form, or frequently in the localized Brunsting-Perry-like variant.