Causes of acquired erythroderma in adults presenting to a tertiary care centre in Cairo, Egypt

Background: Erythroderma is a morphologic presentation of a variety of cutaneous and systemic diseases. Objective: To study the causes of acquired erythroderma in adults presenting to a tertiary care centre in Cairo, Egypt, during the period between April and December 2011. Patients and methods: Thirty erythrodermic patients were subjected to thorough clinical and pathological evaluation. Immunophenotyping was performed for selected cases. A constellation of findings was used to define the underlying cause. Results: Causes of erythroderma in this series included 15 (50%) cases of erythroderma due to a pre-existing dermatosis, seven (23.3%) cases of drug-induced erythroderma, one (3.3%) case of papuloerythroderma of Ofuji, and seven (23.3%) cases of erythrodermic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma [one (3.3%) case] of Se´ zary syndrome and six (20%) cases of erythrodermic mycosis fungoides (MF). Conclusion: A pre-existing dermatosis was the most common cause of erythroderma. Meticulous clinical and pathological evaluation remains the cornerstone in identifying the underlying cause of erythroderma in countries with limited resources for auxiliary investigations.