Erythema annulare centrifugum in a patient with crohn disease.

BACKGROUND

Erythema annulare centrifugum (EAC) represents a hypersensitivity reaction to a variety of conditions, many of which have been reported in the literature.

METHODS AND

RESULTS

We report on a 38-year-old woman with a 5-year history of recurrent polycylic, arcuate, scaly, erythematous patches with central clearing on her thighs and trunk. Clinical examination and biopsy were both consistent with a diagnosis of EAC. Two years after the initial presentation, she was diagnosed with mild Crohn disease.

CONCLUSIONS

The prolonged nature of EAC in our patient and our inability to identify known associations of malignancies, including medications, connective tissue disorders, systemic disorders, and infections, led us to postulate that her EAC was related to her Crohn disease. A thorough review of the literature failed to detect any previous reports linking Crohn disease and EAC.