The morphologic features of polymorphous light eruptions.

Abstract

When the rashes of one hundred and thirty-eight patients with chronic polymorphous light eruption (PMLE) were carefully analyzed, ten different types of primary lesions, in descending order of frequency were recorded: vesiculopapules, erythema and edema, prurigo-lesions, soft maculondoules, eczema, plaques, urticas, blisters, target lesions, and solid nodules. Scars were noted in a third of the patients. Any type of lesion could be found in combination with any other type of lesion at a rate roughly proportionate to their general prevalence. One type of lesion, however, usually dominated the clinical picture of each patient, and served as a basis for the ordering of the patients into different subgroups. The four most common subgroups, ie, the vesiculopapular, pururigo-like, eczematous, and maculonodular variety accounted for 88 percent of the cases. There were marked intersexual differences in the relative frequency of the different PMLE subtypes. Familiarity with these considerable variationsin the clinical presentation of PMLE will help the clinician in making accurate diagnoses.