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Acne Fulminans

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Acneiform Eruptions in Dermatology

Abstract

Acne fulminans is a rare, severe form of acne vulgaris associated with the acute onset of systemic symptoms. This entity was first described in 1959 when Burns and Colville reported a case of acne conglobata with septicemia in a 16-year-old boy with an acute febrile illness [1]. In 1971, Kelly and Burns described two patients with a syndrome they termed “acute febrile ulcerative conglobate acne with polyarthralgia.” The features of this syndrome included the sudden onset of severe ulcerative acne conglobata without cyst formation, fever, polyarthralgia, failure to respond to usual antibiotic therapy, and a favorable response to debridement in combination with steroid therapy [2]. In 1975, Plewig and Kligman named this disease acne fulminans [3]. This rare entity may occur in isolation or as part of the SAPHO syndrome (synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis).

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Correspondence to Misha Rosenbach M.D. .

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Schram, A., Rosenbach, M. (2014). Acne Fulminans. In: Zeichner, J. (eds) Acneiform Eruptions in Dermatology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8344-1_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8344-1_17

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