PRESENTATIONA 34-year-old Hispanic man with a history of alcoholic cirrhosis and type 2 diabetes mellitus presented with 2 weeks of diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, rash, and syncope. Five days before presentation he developed an erythematous petechial rash on his right hand that spread sequentially to his left hand, forearms, feet, legs, and flanks. The rash was neither pruritic nor painful, and he denied prior history of a rash. He reported no recent infections or antibiotic use. His past medical history was negative for connective tissue disease and was otherwise noncontributory. There were no other significant findings upon review of systems.
ASSESSMENTOn admission, the patient was afebrile, hypotensive (82/69 mm Hg), and tachycardic (104 beats per minute), which resolved after normal saline boluses. Physical examination was significant for petechiae on the hard palate and diffuse palpable petechiae in the distribution described above ( Figure 1A and B). His examination was otherwise notable for right elbow erythema and purulent drainage. Laboratory serologies were negative for human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B and C, and rheumatoid factor. Other laboratory findings included low serum complement component 3 (C3), negative antimyeloperoxidase antibodies, and positive perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies.Two of 4 blood cultures and a wound culture from the purulent elbow site were positive for methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). A transthoracic echocardiogram was negative for vegetations. A punch skin biopsy of the rash showed an infiltrate of lymphocytes, histiocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils with minimal fibrin deposition in blood vessel walls (Figure 2). Direct immunofluorescence was positive for immunoglobulin G and C3 deposition with trace immunoglobulin A in the walls of papillary dermal vessels. These findings were consistent with early leukocytoclastic vasculitis.