Bullous papular-purpuric gloves and socks syndrome in a 42-year-old female: Molecular detection of parvovirus B19 DNA in lesional skin

Abstract

Papular-purpuric gloves and socks syndrome is a self-limited febrile illness of children and young adults. Only 50 well documented cases have been reported, most of which were associated with parvovirus B19 infection. Molecular detection of the virus from lesional skin has been described in only 5 patients. The syndrome is characterized by a papular-purpuric edematous rash in a distinct "gloves and socks" distribution. Extracutaneous manifestations are usually mild and transient. We report a 42-year-old female with a highly unusual expression of the syndrome, including bullous lesions, lingual aphthae, and conjunctivitis, accompanied by arthritis and a high-grade fever. She had immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G antibodies to parvovirus B19, which was detected from lesional skin with the use of polymerase chain reaction for the first time in such a clinical constellation. Because parvovirus B19 infections are generally more severe in adults, we suspect that the unusual disease expression in our patient was related to being more than 40 years of age.