Steroid-responsive facial eruption with cornoid lamellae--a possible new entity

Dermatol Online J. 2008 Oct 15;14(10):9.

Abstract

The histopathologic presence of a cornoid lamella is often associated with a diagnosis of porokeratosis. However, this feature is not pathognomonic for porokeratosis and can be found in a number of other dermatologic conditions, which include seborrheic keratosis, verruca vulgaris, actinic keratosis, squamous-cell carcinoma in situ, basal-cell carcinoma, milia, and scar. Notably, the etiology of none of these entities is inflammatory. Wade and Ackerman consider cornoid lamellation to be a distinctive histopathologic reaction pattern that reflects the disordered progression of epidermal cells during cornification. As such, this pattern is not specific for any given disease process. We report a case in which the lesions appeared inflammatory clinically as well as histopathologically, did not resemble porokeratosis despite the presence of cornoid lamellae, and responded to topical glucocorticoids.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use
  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Facial Dermatoses / classification
  • Facial Dermatoses / diagnosis
  • Facial Dermatoses / drug therapy
  • Facial Dermatoses / pathology*
  • Glucocorticoids / therapeutic use
  • Hepatitis C / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Inflammation
  • Interferon alpha-2
  • Interferon-alpha / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Porokeratosis / diagnosis
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Scalp Dermatoses / classification
  • Scalp Dermatoses / diagnosis
  • Scalp Dermatoses / drug therapy
  • Scalp Dermatoses / pathology*
  • Skin Diseases, Papulosquamous / classification
  • Skin Diseases, Papulosquamous / diagnosis
  • Skin Diseases, Papulosquamous / drug therapy
  • Skin Diseases, Papulosquamous / pathology*

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Antiviral Agents
  • Glucocorticoids
  • Interferon alpha-2
  • Interferon-alpha
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • peginterferon alfa-2b