Erythrasma

 

Causative organism: Corynbacterium minutissimum

 

Clinical features:

(1) The patient develops reddish-brown macular patches, often in areas prone to moisture such as the groin, axilla or in interdigital folds of the foot.

(2) The lesions may be pruritic and show surface scales.

(3) The skin lesions appear coral red when illuminated with a Wood’s lamp.

 

Risk factors:

(1) advanced age

(2) diabetes mellitus

(3) poor hygiene

(4) obesity

(5) moisture and/or hyperhidrosis (including athletes)

(6) immunodeficiency

 

Laboratory features:

(1) A Gram stain done on scrapings from the patches show small Gram-positive bacilli.

(2) Aerobic culture yields Corynebacterium minutissimum.

 

Diagnosis requires exclusion of other conditions such as contact allergy, Candidiasis or dermatophyte infections. A patient may have more than one of these conditions.