Skin Manifestations of Rheumatological Diseases

Abstract

There are many rheumatic diseases presenting with skin manifestations. This could be the first presenting feature of a systemic rheumatic disease. In addition, some of these skin manifestations could be an indication of an active disease or a sign of a serious medical emergency. In this chapter the skin manifestations of common rheumatic diseases will be described. Particular focus will be placed on rheumatic diseases with polyarthritis. The differential diagnosis of erythema nodosum will be discussed as this condition is observed in several disorders with arthritis. There are many drugs used in rheumatology. Some of them like allopurinol can lead to life-threatening dermatological conditions. A quick review on some of these conditions will be outlined. At the end of this chapter, the reader should be able to recognize different dermatological signs associated with patients with arthritis, discuss the differential diagnosis of erythema nodosum, and recognize life-threatening dermatological conditions.