From a few small papules, the male patient got a rare disease, 95 people worldwide have it

April 25, 2022 12:35 GMT+7

This is information provided by Dr. CK2 Nguyen Vu Hoang – Head of Clinical Department 2 – Dermatology Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Dr. Hoang, on January 17, 2022, Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital received a 36-year-old male patient residing in Long An province for examination because of many maculopapular, papules, and erythematous patches on the head of the face and body. hands and feet. There are many sores on the lips, mouth, body with oozing, a lot of pain, hair loss, or a lack of spirit in the body …

Taking the history, the patient said that about 1 year ago, there were a few small red spots scattered on the face and back, no scabs, no itching. The patient went to several places, was diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis and was treated with oral and topical medications.

The disease decreased with the application of the drug and recurred when the treatment was stopped. After that, the patient bought herbal medicine/Chinese medicine/western medicine for about 5-6 months according to the instructions of acquaintances, but the disease did not completely go away but recurred many times.

Through examination, Dr. Hoang thought of Rowell’s syndrome – this is a very rare disease in the world. After giving the patient more basic tests and immunological tests, based on the clinical manifestations and test results, Dr. Hoang diagnosed the patient with Rowell Syndrome based on the following criteria: in the diagnosis of Rowell’s disease, it is:

– Skin lesions of acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus: butterfly erythema, diffuse alopecia.

– Skin lesions resembling erythema multiforme.

– Antinuclear antibody ANA (+) and speckled form

– Anti-SSA (+) antibody

Rowell syndrome is an extremely rare disease in the world, characterized by a combination of lupus erythematosus and erythema multiforme target-like skin lesions. This syndrome was first described in 1922, but was only recognized as a separate disease, called Rowell syndrome, in 1963.

After finding the pathology, the patient was treated according to the diagnosis of Rowell’s syndrome and until now his health has improved, the patient was discharged for outpatient treatment.

“The cause of the disease may be due to the patient being exposed to a lot of sunlight or it may be due to some oral medications. Therefore, if there is an abnormal rash on the skin, especially mouth ulcers or hair loss, you should go to the Dermatology Hospital for timely treatment.” Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang said.

In addition, Doctor Nguyen Vu Hoang noted that with the above clinical symptoms, when visiting doctors, it is easy to mistake them for drug allergies.

“A drug allergy is a more common skin condition, with a good prognosis and complete healing within a few weeks. Meanwhile, Rowell’s syndrome has a chronic disease progression that lasts many years and affects many different organs in the body such as liver damage, kidney damage, bone and joint damage, cardiovascular and respiratory damage, etc. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis of the disease is extremely important for the patient’s health.” Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang noted.

K.Chi