Panniculitis and fever in children.

We describe three children with panniculitis and associated systemic manifestations including fever. Histopathologic features, such as the presence of lobular or septal inflammation, presence of vasculitis, character of the cellular infiltrate, and presence of erythrophagocytosis, were useful in classifying this group of panniculitides. In one patient with subcutaneous polyarteritis nodosa, corticosteroid therapy was effective; in two other patients with histiocytic cytophagic panniculitis, there were poor responses to steroids, intravenously administered immune globulin, dapsone, or antimalarial drugs; cyclosporine was very effective and appeared to be the drug of choice.