Paracetamol-induced hypersensitivity vasculitis in a 10-year-old child [letter]

C Guerriero, F Perino, N Favoriti, R Capizzi, I Sani, D Rigante
2013 European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences  
We report a 10 year-old child who came to our observation for an itching erythematous-purpuric rash arranged in a reticular form over the entire skin surface, which persisted since two months ( Figure 1 ). Four days before its onset, the child experienced a flu-like episode with high fever, treated with paracetamol (usually administered for fevers in this child, without any adverse effects). The rash worsened becoming frankly vasculitic and resembling the pattern of livedo reticularis in one
more » ... k. His parents noted that fever-related paracetamol administrations contributed to increase rash extension and severity. No gastrointestinal symptom or joint pain were reported in the two-month-period before our visit. Child's past medical history did not reveal any relevant clue, with the exception of atopic dermatitis since he was 1 year-old, cyclically treated with antihistamines and emollient creams. Laboratory tests performed when we observed the patient for the first time revealed that blood cell count, kidney and liver function, C-reactive protein, and anti-O-streptolysin titer were all within normal limits. The assay for autoimmunity (anti-nuclear, anti-ENA, anti-DNAds, anti-cardiolipin, anti-beta 2 glycoprotein 1 antibodies, p/c-ANCA), immunoglobulins (IgA and IgE enclosed), cryoglobulins and serum complement were all negative.
pmid:24379075 fatcat:mejrizf4zfckhiazk4ll36tmla