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Case Reports
. 2019 Sep 23;11(Suppl 1):4-10.
doi: 10.1159/000501992. eCollection 2019 Sep-Dec.

Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis in the Presence of Kaposi's Varicelliform Eruption

Anna Campanati  1 , Elisa Molinelli  1 , Valerio Brisigotti  1 , Donatella Brancorsini  2 , Ivan Bobyr  1 , Federico Diotallevi  1 , Giulia Radi  1 , Annamaria Offidani  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis in the Presence of Kaposi's Varicelliform Eruption

Anna Campanati et al. Case Rep Dermatol. .

Abstract

Kaposi's varicelliform eruption (KVE) is a disseminated cutaneous infection usually induced by herpesvirus type 1 or 2, vaccinia virus or Coxsackie A16 virus in a patient with an underlying dermatosis. Risk factors for KVE reported in the literature include erythroderma, systemic sepsis, therapy with immunosuppressants such as methotrexate and systemic steroids, and therapy with systemic retinoids. The occurrence of KVE in psoriasis is rare and it predominantly appears in patients affected by erythrodermic psoriasis during immunosuppressive treatment. We report our experience of a remarkable case of a patient affected by severe erythrodermic psoriasis and KVE that healed after antiviral treatment and after having received secukinumab. After 1 year, psoriasis was cleared and no recurrence of KVE had occurred.

Keywords: Herpes simplex virus; Psoriasis; Secukinumab.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
KVE in erythrodermic psoriasis complicated by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus superinfection (a) and characterized by vesicular and erosive lesions located on the upper chest (b) and face (c) with bilateral ectropion.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Histology of the skin lesion showed mild dermal and follicular lymphocytic infiltrate (a) (hematoxylin and eosin staining, ×100 magnification) associated with intraepidermal vesiculation with ballooning degeneration of keratinocytes, intranuclear inclusions, and multinucleated giant cells (b) (hematoxylin and eosin staining, ×200 magnification).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Complete psoriasis clearance and no recurrence of KVE on the face (a) and chest (b) after 1 year of treatment with secukinumab.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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