A Clinicopathological Study of Palmoplantar Dermatoses / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Palmoplantar dermatoses have frequently been encountered in the dermatologic field. Many previous studies have focused on the specific diseases of palmoplantar dermatoses; however, none of them have included a the comprehensive study of palmoplantar dermatoses. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiological aspects of palmoplantar dermatoses, with a brief review of the common palmoplantar dermatoses. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 237 patients who had been biopsied for palmoplantar dermatoses between January 2000 and December 2004 at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea. RESULTS: The results were as follows; Female to male ratio was 1 : 1.01. The mean age at diagnosis was 37.5+/-20.1 years. The mean duration of the disease was 35.9 months and ranged from 2 days to 50 years. Palmoplantar dermatoses appeared on the palms in 49 (20.6%) patients, the soles in 123 (51.9%) patients, and both the palms and soles in 65 (27.4%) patients. The most common five diseases of palmoplantar dermatoses were palmoplantar pustulosis (23.2%), verruca (11.4%), pompholyx (10.1%), palmoplantar keratoderma (8.9%), and contact dermatitis (8.0%). Of the 237 patients, 65 (27.4%) patients were accompanied with other dermatoses; fungal infection (13.9%), eczema (7.6%), onychodystrophy (3.4%), psoriasis (1.7%), erythema multiforme (1.3%), hyperhidrosis (1.3%), drug eruption (0.8%), or lichen simplex chronicus (0.4%). Of the 237 patients, 51 (21.5%) patients were accompanied with systemic diseases; Cardiovascular diseases (8.4%), endocrine diseases (6.6%), hepatobiliary diseases (4.6%), malignancy (3.4%), pulmonary diseases (2.5%), or gastrointestinal diseases (1.3%). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that the biopsy of palmoplantar dermatoses is gradually increasing. Further investigation with a wider and larger population is necessary to understand the epidermiology of palmoplantar dermatoses, and, based on the epidermiology of palmoplantar dermatoses, accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of palmoplantar dermatoses could then be achieved.