Three Cases of Autoimmune Progesterone Dermatitis

• Published in: Annals of dermatology Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 479 - 482
• Main Authors: Hye Rin You, Sook Jung Yun, Sung Jin Kim, Seung-chul Lee, Young Ho Won, Jee-bum Lee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 대한피부과학회 05.08.2017
• Subjects: Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis; Menstrual cycle; Progesterone
• ISSN: 1013-9087; 2005-3894

Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis is a rare cyclic pre-menstrual reaction to progesterone produced during the lu-teal phase of the menstrual cycle. The clinical symptoms of autoimmune progesterone dermatitis overlap with other forms of dermatosis such as erythema multiforme, eczema, fixed drug eruption, urticaria, and angioedema. We experi-enced 3 cases of autoimmune progesterone dermatitis. All patients had a recurrent history of monthly skin eruptions. Skin lesions normally began a few days before menstruation and resolved a few days later. Patients were confirmed to have autoimmune progesterone dermatitis by the results of the progesterone intradermal test. All three patients had dif-ferent clinical findings such as erythema annulare cen-trifugum, urticaria, contact dermatitis, and rosacea. Because patients presented with variable clinical manifestations, they could have been easily misdiagnosed. The patients were treated with oral contraceptive, antihistamine and steroids for symptom control. We propose that dermatologists should consider autoimmune progesterone dermatitis in cases of re-current cyclic skin eruptions in female patients. Further, if this condition is suspected, thorough history taking include-ing that on menstrual cycle and intradermal progesterone test should be performed. (Ann Dermatol 29(4) 479∼482, 2017)