Etiologies of Erythroderma on Patients Admitted in Dermatology Department

ABSTRACT Erythroderma is a severe skin disease that can be associated with serious metabolic disorders and so it requires immediate care. The difficulty with erythroderma lies in finding the underlying cause. Several studies in other countries, that reported a different incidence of each etiologic group. The aim of this study was to evaluate various causes of erythroderma in Gilan and compare the findings with previous studies. This descriptive study was done retrospectively by reviewing the existing records of 64 erythrodermic patients admitted in skin diseases ward of Razi Hospital in Rasht in 1995-2000. The mean age of onset was 51 years, and majority of patients were older than 40 years, with a male female ratio of 3/1. The most frequent causes of erythroderma were psoriasis (46.8%), drug reactions (14.1%), dermatitis, (9.3%) and lymphoma (6.2%) followed by PRP (3.1%) and lichen planus, Pemphigus foliaceus, Ichthyosis, actinic reticuloid each in 1.6%. No cause could be found in 14.1%. With regard to the possibility of recognizing the etiology in 85.9% of patients and consideration of this point that the most common etiologies of erythroderma are the underlying dermatitis, especially psoriasis, early recognition and appropriate treatment of these underlying causes is recommended in order to prevent erythroderma.