SAN FRANCISCO – If a patient presents with bilateral cellulitis on both legs, think venous stasis dermatitis, which is the number one misdiagnosis of cellulitis and a frequent cause of unnecessary hospitalization for so-called “red leg,” according to Kanade Shinkai, MD, PhD.
“It’s easy to make that mistake, because you have a red, hot leg that’s painful, and the patient is having difficulty walking,” Dr. Shinkai said at the UCSF Annual Advances in Internal Medicine meeting. “Venous stasis dermatitis is one of the things you want to learn to recognize, as hospitalization is typically not needed.”
Dr. Kanade Shinkai
“That has to do with the venous return back to the heart,” said Dr. Shinkai, a dermatologist at UCSF Medical Center. “If it’s unilateral, it’s almost always on the left side.”
Patients often have features of venous insufficiency that cause stasis, including varicose veins and brawny hyperpigmentation on the medial aspects of the ankles. “They have almost no systemic features: no fever, no white count, no lymphadenopathy,” she said. “These patients need some kind of anti-inflammatory medication because the skin is very inflamed. If you happened to take a biopsy, you would see inflammation as well as lymphatic congestion.”
Dr. Shinkai recommends that patients apply a midpotency topical steroid such as triamcinolone to the affected area, followed by compression, ideally antiembolism stockings (TED hose) – but that can be a hard sell.
“When your legs are that swollen, they’re really painful to wear,” she said. “Patients will say, ‘Don’t you come near me with those TED hose.’ If you’re in that situation, tell them to use an Ace wrap with light compression and each day tighten the Ace wrap a little more until they are able to use TED hose with minimal discomfort.”
The differential diagnosis for venous stasis dermatitis includes cellulitis (which rarely presents bilaterally), deep vein thrombosis, asteatotic dermatitis, erysipelas (more superficial cellulitis that results in elevated, shiny plaques), pyomyositis, necrotizing fasciitis, leukocytoclastic vasculitis, and allergic contact dermatitis.
Dr. Shinkai reported having no relevant financial disclosures.