Multidisciplinary Approach to Pyemotes ventricosus Papular Urticaria Dermatitis

Dermatitis caused by arthropods in domestic environment: an Italian multicentre study

“…b). Genitalia and interdigital spaces of hands are usually unaffected . Upper limbs were mainly attacked by Pyemotidae ( P < 0.01) (Table ), probably depending on the mode of exposure of arms and hands on armrests of chairs or sofas, tables and other worm‐eaten furniture.…”

“…Dermatitis induced by arthropods in domestic environments is an increasing health problem in industrialized countries. Nevertheless, systematic studies on skin diseases caused by mites and insects living in indoor environments have been rarely reported, and only several single case reports of skin injuries induced by a large variety of different arthropods were described …”

“…Excluding lice and scabies mite, numerous indoor arthropods can determine a great variety of skin lesions. The most frequent clinical picture is papular urticaria, characterized by small erythematous, urticarial papules capped by a tiny vesicle or with a central haemorrhagic punctum . We prefer to name this clinical picture ‘strophulus’ (from ancient Greek στρόϕος: ‘turn of bowels’) instead of papular urticaria, which is frequently used to indicate skin diseases with different aetiologic and pathogenetic mechanisms .…”

“…Nevertheless, systematic studies on skin diseases caused by mites and insects living in indoor environments have been rarely reported, [1][2][3] and only several single case reports of skin injuries induced by a large variety of different arthropods were described. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The presence of arthropods in indoor environments is conditioned by microclimatic factors and by arthropod reservoirs, such as moulds on walls, plants, pets and worm-eaten wooden structures (furniture, parquet, beams, firewood). Moreover, reproductive cycle of several indoor arthropods is seasonally conditioned and their seasonal peaks increase risk of morbidity for humans.…”

“…The most frequent clinical picture is papular urticaria, characterized by small erythematous, urticarial papules capped by a tiny vesicle or with a central haemorrhagic punctum. 4,7,8 We prefer to name this clinical picture 'strophulus' (from ancient Greek rsqό/ος: 'turn of bowels' 14 ) instead of papular urticaria, which is frequently used to indicate skin diseases with different aetiologic and pathogenetic mechanisms. 15 Other clinical features frequently reported are erythematous and excoriated papules, urticariaand scabies-like lesions, erythematous papules and pustules.…”