We report a 66-year-old man with a history of congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation on warfarin therapy and chronic kidney disease that presented with acute dyspnoea. He had multiple palpable purpuric lesions on his bilateral lower extremities. Laboratory findings supported acute anaemia with no obvious bleeding source, supratherapeutic international normalised ratio and acute on chronic kidney injury. Oesophogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy initially suggested ischaemic colitis. The patient's legs were treated symptomatically with topical steroids. He later developed acute large volume bloody diarrhoea that made him haemodynamically unstable. Punch biopsy of the skin was consistent with leucocytoclastic vasculitis and direct immunofluorescence demonstrated immunoglobulin A and C3 deposits consistent with Henoch-Schonlein purpura. The patient was treated with oral steroids. Bleeding stabilised and rash resolved. Steroids were successfully tapered. The patient was discharged on haemodialysis but ultimately this was able to be discontinued.
Topical imiquimod is commonly used in the nonsurgical management of actinic keratosis and superficial basal cell carcinoma. Although adverse effects have been limited primarily to local irritation, another rare adverse reaction is erythema multiforme. We present a case of erythema multiforme involving the oral mucosa, trunk, and extremities that followed broad application of topical imiquimod for the management of suspected superficial basal cell skin cancers and actinic keratosis. The patient had used imiquimod previously without complication. Cessation of use and systemic corticosteroids resulted in prompt clearance.
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