Vallini V, Andreini R, Bonadio A, et al.
The international journal of lower extremity wounds. Date of publication 2017 Sep 1;volume 16(3):191-201.
1. Int J Low Extrem Wounds. 2017 Sep;16(3):191-201. doi: 10.1177/1534734617710980.
Epub 2017 Jun 6.
Pyoderma Gangrenosum: A Current Problem as Much as an Unknown One.
Vallini V(1), Andreini R(1), Bonadio A(2).
Author information:
(1)1 Ospedale Santa Maria Maddalena-Volterra, Azienda Usl Nordovest, Toscana,
Italy.
(2)2 Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, Italy.
Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare neutrophilic inflammatory skin disease,
characterized by recurrent skin ulcers, which in almost 50% of cases are
associated with systemic autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis,
chronic hepatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, paraproteinemias and hematological
malignancies. A systematic search of literature for PG was carried out using the
PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar databases for the purpose of this review and
2780 articles were retrieved up to February 2017. Inflammation represents the
predominant aspect of the disease, but its pathophysiological mechanisms are not
completely clear yet, since there are many studies showing only one or more
isolated findings of the disease. The goal of PG treatment is to reduce
inflammation in order to promote ulcer healing by minimizing side effects of
therapy. Several systemic and local treatments are available, but the lack of
large randomized double-blind studies results in an absence of a uniform
therapeutic standard: thus, more clinical studies are required in order to make
head-to-head comparisons between combination and single-drug therapies and to
identify specific combination therapies for distinctive clinical patterns of PG.
DOI: 10.1177/1534734617710980
PMID: 28915774 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
