Erythema annulare centrifugum and relapsing polychondritis.

Background. Relapsing polychondritis is a rare systemic disease. Skin invol vement occurs in 20 to 50 % of cases. Cutaneous signs are most often relate d to a leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Association of relapsing polychondritis with neutrophilic dermatosis have also been reported. We report the first case of an erythema annulare centrifugum-like dermatosis associated with re lapsing polychondritis, with a two years delay between both conditions. Case report. A 74 year-old man was seen for papulo-erythematous centrifugal annular lesions that appeared 18 months earlier in a context of bad genera l conditions. Biological tests were normal. Several skin biopsies were perf ormed, showing at the beginning features of drug reaction and then of lupus -lichen. Treatment with hydroxychloroquine, topical corticosteroids, dapson e and thalidomide were unsuccessful. In the following months, the patient d eveloped fever and relapsing bronchitis. Suddenly, a chondritis of the ears appeared, leading to the diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis. All the cu taneous, chondritic and respiratory signs disappeared with oral steroid the rapy. Two years after the diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis the patient developed refractory anemia. Discussion; Cutaneous signs of relapsing polychondritis are frequent and ma y occur several months or years before the chondritis. They are polymorphou s, but to the best of our knowledge, a clinical aspect of erythema annulare centrifugum has never been described. Our observation recalls the sometime s long delay between the cutaneous and the chondritic signs of relapsing po lychondritis and the high frequency of dysmyelopoiesis in relapsing polycho ndritis with cutaneous involvement.