Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine

Case Presentation: A patient with a known history of pustular psoriasis presented with sub-acute development of diffuse erythema and scaling of the skin with areas of exfoliation consistent with erythroderma.  She was ill appearing and required admission and aggressive treatment with steroid-impregnated wet dressings, topical emollients, analgesics and systemic immunosuppressants.

Discussion: Erythroderma is a dermatologic emergency characterized by diffuse erythema and scaling spanning >90% of skin surfaces and is associated with a mortality rate as high as 64%.  It is initially a clinical diagnosis and needs to be recognized and aggressively treated expeditiously to improve chances of a good outcome.