Acute and recurrent pustulosis: consolidating uncommon cases of follicular pustulosis induced by UV light and other triggers

Abstract

Background: There are a growing number of patients with acute and recurrent pustular reactive dermatitis reported without clear parameters to define the entities. Consolidation of cases under the term acute and recurrent pustulosis (ARP) will aid dermatologists in diagnosing such patients in the future. Objective: Describe the parameters which define acute and recurrent pustulosis and communicate the high predominance for onset in young women based on reported cases. Methods: PubMed literature search for reports of recurrent follicularly centered neutrophilic eruptions. Results: According to the clinical characteristics of ARP, 23 patients were identified from prior reports. Interestingly, 20 out of 23 patients were women with a high predominance in early adulthood. Limitations: This is an understudied and underreported clinical entity. Therefore, limitations include availability of case reports and lack of prior research available on PubMed. Conclusion: ARP is defined as follicular pustules that occur and remit without treatment and within a week of an identifiable trigger, predominantly affecting women. Consolidating reports of ARP under clear criteria will aid clinical dermatologists in diagnosing this unreported dermatitis.