Dystrophic calcinosis cutis in subacute lupus

Dystrophic calcinosis cutis is known to be associated with various connecti ve tissue disorders but to the best of our knowledge has never been reporte d in subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE), a distinctive cutaneous subset in the spectrum of lupus erythematosus. It occurs without calcium a nd phosphorus metabolic abnormalities and may be localized or generalized. We report a patient with SCLE who developed calcinosis cutis and had normal serum calcium and phosphorus levels and, interestingly, a normal concentra tion of blood ionized calcium. This latter, which represents the active for m in the total amount of blood calcium, is a parameter only rarely assessed in patients with dystrophic calcinosis cutis. Thus, other pathogenic facto rs should be investigated to clarify the pathophysiology of the dystrophic type of calcification.