Case Report. Tinea corporis purpurea

Abstract

We report a case of tinea corporis purpurea localized to a calf in a 36-year-old woman. The patient, who was also affected by mild superficial venous insufficiency of lower limbs, complained of intense pruritus. Microsporum canis was the aetiological agent. Clinically atypical varieties of tinea corporis were sometimes reported in the literature, particularly in HIV-positive patients, although they are uncommon in immunocompetent patients; in particular, tinea corporis purpurea is very rare.

Bizarre annular lesion emerging as tinea incognito

“…On a reported case of tinea corporis purpurea, M. canis caused an atypical erythemato‐purpuric scaling lesion showing a bizarre formation at the lower limb. Bullous annular lesions in an immunocompetent patient have also been described 15, 16 . In a diabetic patient lesions caused by M. canis mimicked rosacea by presenting papules and papulopustules 17 …”

Unusual manifestations of dermatophytoses

“…1), herpetiform dermatitis (Fig. 2), allergic contact dermatitis, psoriasis, folliculitis, purpura, impetigo, parapsoriasis, tertiary syphilis, and pityriasis versicolor 1 . Diagnostic suspicion, clinical findings, and microbiologic examination should rule out all of these conditions, but histologic examination often will resolve doubtful cases.…”

“…An interesting case of tinea corporis purpurea has recently been reported, in which some typical clinical aspects, such as erythema and scaling, coexisted with purpura 1 . The authors hypothesized that the appearance of purpura had been facilitated both by superficial venous insufficiency of the lower limbs, with which the patient was affected, and by scratching.…”

“…When the host's resistance is reduced, the prevalence of dermatophytoses can be extremely high and the symptomatology can be very unusual 1,7 . Clinically atypical varieties of tc have usually been described in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐positive patients (Fig.…”

'Clues' for the Histological Diagnosis of Tinea: How Reliable Are They?

“…However, as reported during the past years, dermatophytoses of the body and face commonly have unusual, nonspecific, or unnoticed histopathological findings. Veraldi et al3 reported a case of tinea infection with positive direct immunofluorescence findings of granular deposition of immunoglobulin G and C3 at the dermoepidermal junction. Moreover, Goldberg et al4 also reported a case of bullous tinea corporis with positive direct immunofluorescence features that revealed spongiotic dermatitis on H&E-stained sections.…”