The Spectrum of Cutaneous Manifestations in Lupus Erythematosus: The Italian Experience
July 2000
in “
Lupus
”
chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus CCLE discoid lesions subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus SCLE acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus ACLE butterfly erythema systemic lupus erythematosus SLE Raynaud's phenomenon nonscarring alopecia periungual telangiectasia chronic cutaneous lupus discoid lupus subacute cutaneous lupus acute cutaneous lupus butterfly rash systemic lupus Raynaud's hair loss nail fold capillary dilation
TLDR In Italian patients with lupus, the most common skin issue was chronic cutaneous lupus, especially discoid lesions, and nonspecific skin problems occurred in about a third of those with systemic lupus, mainly during active disease.
In a retrospective study over a 10-year period involving 186 patients with lupus erythematosus (LE) at an Italian Dermatology Department, researchers found that the most common LE-specific skin disease was chronic cutaneous LE (CCLE), with 72.5% of patients displaying classical discoid lesions. Subacute cutaneous LE (SCLE) was present in 8% of cases, and acute cutaneous LE (ACLE) was observed in 15% of patients, with butterfly erythema being the most frequent lesion. LE-nonspecific skin lesions were found in 31% of patients with systemic LE (SLE), with Raynaud's phenomenon (39.6%), nonscarring alopecia (31%), and periungual telangiectasia (20.6%) being the most common. These nonspecific lesions were only seen in patients with SLE and typically during active phases of the disease.
