Impetigo herpetiformis as a cause of postpartum fever.

Impetigo herpetiformis is a rare and often serious pustular dermatosis of pregnancy. The usual course of impetigo herpetiformis is one of continued progression throughout pregnancy with rapid resolution during the puerperium. This patient is the first reported case, to the authors' knowledge, of impetigo herpetiformis presenting during the puerperium, a time usually associated with the disease's remission. This suggests that impetigo herpetiformis should be included in the differential diagnosis of puerperal fever, particularly in those cases associated with dermatoses.