Ann Dermatol.  2017 Aug;29(4):479-482. 10.5021/ad.2017.29.4.479.

Three Cases of Autoimmune Progesterone Dermatitis

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Dermatology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea. jbmlee@jnu.ac.kr

Abstract

Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis is a rare cyclic premenstrual reaction to progesterone produced during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The clinical symptoms of autoimmune progesterone dermatitis overlap with other forms of dermatosis such as erythema multiforme, eczema, fixed drug eruption, urticaria, and angioedema. We experienced 3 cases of autoimmune progesterone dermatitis. All patients had a recurrent history of monthly skin eruptions. Skin lesions normally began a few days before menstruation and resolved a few days later. Patients were confirmed to have autoimmune progesterone dermatitis by the results of the progesterone intradermal test. All three patients had different clinical findings such as erythema annulare centrifugum, urticaria, contact dermatitis, and rosacea. Because patients presented with variable clinical manifestations, they could have been easily misdiagnosed. The patients were treated with oral contraceptive, antihistamine and steroids for symptom control. We propose that dermatologists should consider autoimmune progesterone dermatitis in cases of recurrent cyclic skin eruptions in female patients. Further, if this condition is suspected, thorough history taking including that on menstrual cycle and intradermal progesterone test should be performed.

Keyword

Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis; Menstrual cycle; Progesterone

MeSH Terms

Angioedema
Dermatitis*
Dermatitis, Contact
Drug Eruptions
Eczema
Erythema
Erythema Multiforme
Female
Humans
Intradermal Tests
Luteal Phase
Menstrual Cycle
Menstruation
Progesterone*
Rosacea
Skin
Skin Diseases
Steroids
Urticaria
Progesterone
Steroids

Reference

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