| Related Articles |
Acute inflammatory edema: A mimicker of cellulitis in critically ill patients.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2019 Jun 01;:
Authors: Marchionne EM, McCalmont TH, Pincus LB, LeBoit PE, Fox LP
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Inpatient dermatology consultations for treatment refractory or atypical cellulitis are common. In critically ill patients, differentiating cellulitis from its mimickers can be challenging.
OBJECTIVE: We describe acute inflammatory edema, a likely underrecognized variant of pseudocellulitis.
METHODS: We reviewed the charts of 15 patients with this diagnosis, seen by the inpatient dermatology consult service at the University of California at San Francisco between 2009 and 2017.
RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 9 females and 6 males with an age range of 52-73 years. Acute inflammatory edema presents as bilateral, erythematous, and edematous plaques, most commonly involving the thighs and lower abdomen, sparing areas of increased pressure on the skin. There is a predilection for patients with high body mass indexes and those with clinical or quantitative findings of fluid overload.
CONCLUSION: We propose a 'three hit' pathogenesis of acute inflammatory edema.
PMID: 31163234 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]