Clinicopathological features and prognosis of pyoderma gangrenosum in Korea: A single centre, retrospective, observational study over 20 years.

BACKGROUND: Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare autoinflammatory neutrophilic dermatosis that rapidly evolves. However, little is known about the clinicopathological features and prognosis of pyoderma gangrenosum. AIMS: We aimed to document clinicopathologic and prognostic data of the patients with pyoderma gangrenosum. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, we reviewed case records of patients diagnosed with pyoderma gangrenosum between 1999-2019. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were identified by reviewing medical records for skin biopsy; of these, 37 were men and 16 were women. Mean age at onset was 43.3 ± 18.5 years. The most frequently affected area was the lower extremities (60.4%), followed by the head and neck (17.0%). The most common subtype was ulcerative (47.2%), followed by bullous (22.6%). 30 cases had underlying diseases and the most common were malignancy (24.5%), followed by inflammatory bowel diseases (18.9%). The proportion of cases with history of trauma were significantly higher in post-operative type (100%) as compared to the bullous type (8.3%). Histologic features of granulation tissue were frequently found in post-operative type (66.7%) and bullous type (58.3%). Granulomas were predominantly found in bullous type (58.3%). Age <60 years appeared to be significantly associated with multiple lesions. Partial-to-complete remission was observed in 40 cases (75.5%). Nine (17.0%) cases experienced recurrence with a median progression-free period of six months (interquartile range of 3.0-9.0 months). Cases with underlying hematologic disorders and the bullous subtype were significantly associated with early recurrence. LIMITATIONS: This study was a single-centre study with a retrospective design. CONCLUSION: Pyoderma gangrenosum appears to have ethnic differences. Underlying haematologic disorders and bullous subtype have a worse prognosis. However, the type of histopathology did not correlate with the clinical outcome of pyoderma gangrenosum.

Pyoderma gangrenosum: A clinico-epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND: Pyoderma gangrenosum is a neutrophilic dermatosis of unknown etiology, with inconstant systemic associations and a variable prognosis. AIMS: To study the clinical features and systemic associations of pyoderma gangrenosum and its response to treatment. METHODS: All patients diagnosed to have pyoderma gangrenosum at the dermatology department of the Government Medical College, Kozhikode, from January 01, 2005 to December 31, 2014 were included in this prospective study. RESULTS: During the 10-year study period, 61 patients were diagnosed to have pyoderma gangrenosum. A male predilection was noted. The most common clinical type was ulcerative pyoderma gangrenosum (90.2%). More than 60% of patients had lesions confined to the legs; 78.7% had a single lesion and 27.9% had systemic associations. Most patients required systemic steroids. Patients with disease resistant to steroid therapy were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin G and split-thickness skin grafts under immunosuppression induced by dexamethasone pulse therapy. All except one patient attained complete disease resolution. LIMITATIONS: The main limitation of our study was the small sample size. CONCLUSIONS: The male predilection documented by us was contrary to most previous studies. We found split-thickness skin graft to be a useful option in resistant cases. More prospective studies may enable the formulation of better diagnostic criteria for pyoderma gangrenosum and improve its management.

Management of pyoderma gangrenosum.

Management of pyoderma gangrenosum continues to be a therapeutic challenge, both because the low incidence of the disease makes it difficult to conduct large-scale randomized studies and because pathogenic mechanisms are not yet well defined. The selection of drugs and dosing schedules is therefore mainly guided by clinical experience.