Abstract
Erythroderma, also known as generalized exfoliative dermatitis, manifests as widespread scaling and erythema of most of the body’s cutaneous surface. Other than an apparent predilection for males, the disease occurs no more or less commonly in any other specific subsets of the population. Its etiology is highly variable, although the most common cause is a drug eruption, flare of a pre-existing dermatologic condition or lymphoma or other cancer. It may occur secondary to systemic use or topical application of the medication. Other causes may include infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients, excessive exposure to solar radiation while taking photosensitive drugs, and malignancy. Erythroderma is potentially life threatening, due to the severe associated hemodynamic and metabolic complications. The diagnosis of this disease is made clinically. Histological findings tend to be non-specific. Treatment of hemodynamic instability should be given precedence to reduce mortality, followed by rapid identification of the underlying cause of disease, as this relates directly to the prognosis of the condition as well as the likelihood of resolution from cessation of the offending agent or treatment of the underlying disease.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Suggested Reading
Akhyani M, Ghodsi ZS, Toosi S, Dabbaghian H. Erythroderma: a clinical study of 97 cases. BMC Dermatol. 2005;5(1):5.
Botella-Estrada R, Sanmartin O, Oliver V, Febrer I, Aliaga A. Erythroderma: a clinicopathological study of 56 cases. Arch Dermatol. 1994;130(12):1503–7.
Grant-Kels JM, Bernstein M, Rothe MJ. Exfoliative dermatitis. In: Wolff K, Goldsmith S, Gilchrest B, Paller A, Leffell D, editors. Fitzpatricks dermatology in general medicine. New York: McGraw Hill; 2008. p. 1068–87.
Hasan T, Jansén CT. Erythroderma: a follow-up of fifty cases. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1983;8(6):836–40.
Hengee UR, Ruzicka T, Schwartz RA, Cork MJ. Adverse effects of topical glucocorticosteroids. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006;54:1–16.
Husain Z, Reddy BY, Schwartz RA. DRESS syndrome: part I. Clinical perspectives. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2013;68:693–705.
Husain Z, Reddy BY, Schwartz RA. DRESS syndrome: part II. Management and therapeutics. J Am Acad Dermatol. 68:709–717.
Janniger CK, Gascón P, Schwartz RA, Hennessey PN, Lambert WC. Erythroderma as the initial presentation of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Dermatologica (Basel) 1991;183:143–5.
King Jr LE, Dufresne Jr RG, Lovett GL, Rosin MA. Erythroderma: review of 82 cases. South Med J. 1986;79(10):1210–5.
Krasowska D, Szymanek M, Schwartz RA, Myśliński W. Cutaneous effects of the most commonly used antidepressant medication, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2007;65(6):848–53.
Okoduwa C, Lambert W, Schwartz R, Kubeyinje E, Eitokpah A, Sinha S, et al. Erythroderma: review of a potentially life-threatening dermatosis. Indian J Dermatol. 2009;54(1):1–6.
Pal S, Haroon TS. Erythroderma: a clinico‐etiologic study of 90 cases. Int J Dermatol. 1998;37(2):104–7.
Rothe MJ, Bialy TL, Grant-Kels JM. Erythroderma. Dermatol Clin. 2000;18(3):405–15.
Rubins A, Hartmane I, Lielbriedis Y, Schwartz R. Therapeutic options for erythroderma. Cutis. 1992;49(6):424–6.
Rym BM, Mourad M, Bechir Z, Dalenda E, Faika C, Iadh AM, et al. Erythroderma in adults: a report of 80 cases. Int J Dermatol. 2005;44(9):731–5.
Schwartz RA, Leevy CM, Cohen PJ, Lambert WC. Erythroderma and fulminant hepatitis: a possible association. Cutis 1986;37:56–8.
Schwartz RA, McDonough PH, Lee BW. Toxic epidermal necrolysis: part I. Introduction, history, classification, clinical features, systemic manifestations, etiology, and immunopathogenesis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2013;69:173–84.
Schwartz RA, McDonough PH, Lee BW. Toxic epidermal necrolysis: part II. Prognosis, sequelae, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. J Am Acad Dermatol. 201369: 187-202;69:187–202.
Sehgal V, Srivastava G. Exfoliative dermatitis: a prospective study of 80 patients. Dermatologica. 1986;173(6):278–84.
Sehgal VN, Srivastava G, Sardana K. Erythroderma/exfoliative dermatitis: a synopsis. Int J Dermatol. 2004;43(1):39–47.
Sigurdsson V, Steegmans PH, van Vloten WA. The incidence of erythroderma: a survey among all dermatologists in the Netherlands. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2001;45(5):675–8.
Sigurdsson V, Toonstra J, Hezemans-Boer M, van Vloten WA. Erythroderma: a clinical and follow-up study of 102 patients, with special emphasis on survival. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1996;35(1):53–7.
Sigurdsson V, Toonstra J, van Vloten W. Idiopathic erythroderma: a follow-up study of 28 patients. Dermatology. 1997;194(2):98–101.
Thestrup-Pedersen K, Halkier-Sørensen L, Søgaard H, Zachariae H. The red man syndrome: exfoliative dermatitis of unknown etiology: a description and follow-up of 38 patients. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1988;18(6):1307–12.
Wilson DC, Jester JD, King Jr LE. Erythroderma and exfoliative dermatitis. Clin Dermatol. 1993;11(1):67–72.
Wilson HT. Exfoliative dermatitis: its etiology and prognosis. AMA Arch Derm Syphilol. 1954;69(5):577–88.
Zip C, Murray S, Walsh NM. The specificity of histopathology in erythroderma. J Cutan Pathol. 1993;20(5):393–8.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer-Verlag London
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jadotte, Y.T., Schwartz, R.A., Karimkhani, C., Boyers, L.N., Patel, S.S. (2015). Drug Eruptions and Erythroderma. In: Hall, J., Hall, B. (eds) Cutaneous Drug Eruptions. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6729-7_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6729-7_23
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-6728-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-6729-7
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)