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I have spots and my skin burns

Histological analysis of a skin biopsy

Peter, a 60 year-old Caucasian policeman, complains of a painful burning sensation in his lower extremities lasting for several months. Lower limbs petechiae (small purple/red hemorrhagic spots) appeared one week ago.

Acknowledgement

This case study was provided by Prof. Olivier Boyer (M.D., Ph.D., Head of the Department of Immunology and Biotherapy, Rouen University Hospital, France) and Dr. Maëlle Le Besnerais (M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Rouen University Hospital, France) of the Faculty of Medicine of Rouen, Normandy University, France. The authors would like to thank David Saadoun, Odile Goria, Lucie Guyant-Maréchal and Fabienne Jouen for their critical reading of this case study, Isabelle Duval for the development of pictures and Laetitia Demoulins for technical assistance. We are grateful to Nikki Sabourin-Gibbs, Rouen University Hospital, for her help in editing the manuscript.

Course Content

History
Differential diagnosis
Examination
Investigations
Discussion
Treatment
Final Outcome
References
Evaluation – Questions & answers