[The ulcerative form of skin sarcoidosis]

Abstract

A female patient suffering from the ulcerative form of skin sarcoidosis is described and the literature dealing with this problem is reviewed. Peculiar features of this case are described: ulceration of the nodes, which is an extremely rare phenomenon; no involvement of other organs, lungs included, was detectable, which is not typical of ulcerative sarcoidosis; small-nodular elements are parallelled by nodes (Boeck's small-nodular sarcoid and Darier-Roussy's subcutaneous sarcoids) in this patient, this evidencing an uniform pathologic process in the skin and subcutaneous fat. Ulceration in this patient is explained by the development of allergic vasculitis of the immediate hypersensitivity type (leukocytoclastic vasculitis and manifest increase of the level of circulating immune complexes). Prednisolone therapy has resulted in an excellent clinical effect.