ABSTRACT
Subcorneal Pustular Dermatosis (SPD) is a chronic, benign, recurrent, pustular eruption of idiopathic nature mainly involving the trunk, intertriginous area and flexor aspects of limbs. It is a neutrophilic dermatosis and the exact aetiology is unknown. There are only limited number of studies on the clinical and histopathological aspects of subcorneal pustular dermatosis as well as the associations of subcorneal pustular dermatosis especially in our country. Hence the study is of significance at present.METHODSA descriptive study was done on 37 patients with clinical features of SPD who attended a tertiary care hospital in Kerala during a period of one and a half years. A detailed history, dermatological and system examination, histopathology, immunofluorescence & relevant laboratory investigations were done, and results were analysed using appropriate biostatistics.RESULTSMajority of the patients were females and belonged to sixth decade. 97.3% of patients had recurrence of the disease during summer season. Trunk and intertriginous areas were predominantly affected. Hypothyroidism was observed in 21.6% of patients. Four patients developed chronic plaque psoriasis during the follow up.CONCLUSIONSSubcorneal Pustular Dermatosis is a chronic relapsing pustular eruption which can mimic various other conditions in our daily practice. Many diseases including inflammatory diseases, malignancies and metabolic diseases have been reported to be associated with SPD. Hence a better understanding of the associations and underlying conditions helps in providing effective treatment for the patients.