Not all that blisters is infectious

[摘要] Achild who presents with blistering that is not due to an infectiouscause can represent a diagnostic challenge for primary care physicians.Pediatric autoimmune bullous diseases encompass several very uncommon blistering skin conditions, including chronic bullous disease of childhood(CBDC), pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus, bullous pemphigoid,dermatitis herpetiformis, and epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. The hallmark ofthese diseases is bullae or blistering caused by autoantibody-mediated disruption of the structural anchoring components of the epidermis that results inmicroscopic and macroscopic cleavage, either intraepidermal or subepidermal.We report a case of a child with a classic clinical presentation of CBDC,characterized by the crown-of-jewels or string-of-pearls sign, in which vesicles and bullae form in close proximity with an annular morphology. Thepresentation may mimic herpes simplex and varicella zoster virus infection.A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus databases usingthe key words CBDC, linear IgA disease, and pediatric autoimmune bullous disease allowed for the collection of English-language articles.

[学科分类] 卫生学