Sea Urchin Injury Accompanied by Paresthesia / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Sea urchins are marine invertebrates commonly found in coastal areas around the world. The potential mechanisms of injury are primary puncture wounds, envenomation, and the foreign body reaction. A 20-year-old woman presented with multiple, 0.2 to 0.3 cm-sized, erythematous papules with central blackish particles accompanied by numbness and pain on the dorsum of the right foot and ankle for 7 days. She had been injured by a sea urchin 7 days prior at the seaside in Guam. A skin biopsy of the lesion showed inflammation with foreign body reaction. The attending physician removed all the blackish particles and applied mupirocin ointment. Although skin lesions improved over time, numbness and pain still remained. There have been only six reported cases of sea urchin granuloma in Korea, but no reports of sea urchin injury with neurologic symptoms. Herein, we report a rare case of sea urchin injury accompanied by paresthesia.