[Progressive pigmented purpuric dermatosis in young children]

Background: Pigmented purpuric dermatosis (or Schamberg's disease) is characterized by chronic macular purpura and capillaritis. It is more common in young adult males and adolescents and is generally localized on the lower limbs. In this article, we report on five young children with generalized Schamberg's disease.

Patients and methods: Five children (aged 13 months to 5 years) were included in this retrospective study. Time to consultation delay ranged from 15 days to 1 year.

Results: All patients presented asymptomatic generalized macular purpura. Skin biopsies were performed in 4 cases and were characteristic. The results of coagulation tests and complete blood counts were within the normal range in all patients. The clinical course was chronic, with periods of improvement and worsening. No treatment was prescribed.

Discussion: Schamberg's disease is uncommon in childhood. Our observations suggest that this diagnosis is not exceptional. Clinical appearance, setting and normal blood count values are sufficient to enable a diagnosis to be made. The clinical course is generally chronic, and as yet no treatments have demonstrated efficacy.