Rowell's syndrome

Rowell's syndrome is the name given to a distinct group of patients with lu pus erythematosus who develop erythema multiforme-like lesions and have a c haracteristic serological picture. We report a case of a 29-year-old woman of Afro-Caribbean origin who presented with an erythema multiforme-like eru ption on the hands. Subsequently she developed painful erythematous swellin gs on the feet and scaly plaques on the forearm and thigh consistent with s ubacute cutaneous lupus. She developed a positive antinuclear factor and ha d positive anti-Re and anti-La antibodies and a positive rheumatoid factor. All of these features are consistent with Rowell's syndrome which we belie ve is a rare but distinct variant of cutaneous lupus erythematosus.