Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history Dyshidrotic dermatitis or dyshidrotic eczema is characterized by small vesicles on the lateral aspects of the fingers and sometimes the soles of the feet. This condition was originally believed to be due to dysfunction of the sweat gland or “dyshidrosis,”…
Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history The modifier ’plane’ describes a group of xanthomas that range from macules to thin plaques. They are non-inflammatory macules or plaques. This group includes several well-defined subsets, some pathognomonic for specific diseases: Intertriginous xanthomas Intertriginous xanthomas appear as slightly yellow,…
Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history The modifier tuberous refers to the nodular character of this type of xanthoma. Typically, they appear on the elbows, knees, and buttocks, and less commonly, in other areas. The tuberous xanthoma spectrum encompasses tuberoeruptive xanthomas and tuberous xanthomas. Tuberoeruptive xanthomas…
Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history Slowly growing and sometimes subtle the tendon xanthoma presents as a firm-to-hard subcutaneous nodule with normal overlying skin. The sites of predilection are the Achilles tendons and extensor tendons of the digits. They can be associated with periosteal xanthomas that…
Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history As the name implies ’eruptive’ xanthomas develop rapidly in crops or showers. These red-yellow dermal papules can be quite inflammatory in their acute stage and can cause pruritus and tenderness. These lesions typically resolve over the course of weeks. They…
Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history Xanthoma disseminatum (XD) is a rare, normolipemic form of histiocytosis. Patients rapidly develop hundreds of red-brown papules that become increasingly yellow with time. The lesions are symmetrically distributed and involve the eyelids, trunk, face, and flexural folds of the proximal…
Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history Xanthomas are macules, papules, nodules, or plaques distinguished by a yellow color due to the lipid found within foam cells that are the histologic hallmark of these lesions. Xanthomatous lesions are of two types: xanthomas, per se, which are discussed…
Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history Also called xanthelasma palpebrarum, these planar, yellow-to-gray plaques are present on the eyelids and periorbital skin. They are the most common and least specific of all xanthomas. When seen in isolation xanthelasma can present a diagnostic dilemma because one-half of…
