Successful treatment of eosinophilic cellulitis with dapsone.

A 55-year-old woman presented with a 3-year history of recurrent episodes of pruritic cellulitis-like erythematous plaques, mostly located on the limbs. Simultaneously, fever, malaise and peripheral eosinophilia were noted. The clinical diagnosis of eosinophilic cellulitis (also known as Well's syndrome) was supported by the histopathological finding of typical "flame figures". Treatment with dapsone was initiated at a dose of 50 mg per day. After one year of follow-up the patient was relapse-free. Eosinophilic cellulitis is an uncommon, recurrent inflammatory skin disease. The management is often a challenge, due to the frequent need for long-term therapy. Dapsone is an effective and safe treatment option.

Wade histoid leprosy revisited.

An 18-year-old man presented with a 4-year history of erythematous patches on the trunk, followed 2-years later by multiple nodules, mostly located on the limbs, and distal paresthesias. Two close contacts were treated for leprosy during his childhood. Histopathological examination revealed a histiocytic infiltrate with acid-fast bacilli on Ziehl-Neelsen stain. The slit-skin and nasal smears showed numerous acid-fast bacilli. The correlation between clinical, epidemiological, histopathological, and microbiological features allowed the diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy, histoid variant. Multidrug therapy as recommended by the WHO was initiated. A rapid and sustained improvement was seen. Histoid leprosy is a rare manifestation of lepromatous leprosy, first described by Wade in 1960. Since then few cases have been reported, the majority of them from countries with a high prevalence of the disease. Early recognition and treatment are of most importance to prevent neurological disabilities and achieve epidemiological control.