Korean J Med.  1998 May;54(5):713-717.

A Case of Scurvy Mimics Cutaneous Vasculitis

• Park SH
• Choi SW

Abstract

The human body is unable to synthesize vitamin C and a diet deficient in vitamin C leads to scurvy. Scurvy has become a rare clinical entity in most developed country. However it may still be encountered in selected situation, such as old people live along, young children, food faddists, and alcoholics. Scurvy may mimic other medical conditions such as vasculitis, systemic bleeding disorders, and deep vein thrombosis. For this reason, scorbutic patient are often misdiagnosed or evaluated for other disorder, thus delaying the correct diagnosis. We describe a 63-year-old man who had petechiae and ecchymoses of lower extremity, follicular hyperkeratosis, gingival hemorrhage and corkscrew hairs after consuming a restricted diet for 3 year. The diagnosis was confirmed by low concentration of vitamin C in serum, and treatment with vitamin C leads to a rapid reversal of scorbutc changs. We emphasize the importance of taking into consideration scurvy in the diagnosis of patient presenting with a skin rash resembling vasculitis or systemic bleeding disorder in high risk group.

Keyword

scurvy, pseudovasculitis

MeSH Terms

Alcoholics
Ascorbic Acid
Child
Developed Countries
Diagnosis
Diet
Ecchymosis
Exanthema
Gingival Hemorrhage
Hair
Hemorrhage
Human Body
Humans
Lower Extremity
Middle Aged
Purpura
Scurvy*
Systemic Vasculitis
Vasculitis*
Venous Thrombosis
Ascorbic Acid