Three Cases of Kaposi's Varicelliform Eruption

Abstract

Kaposi's varicelliform eruption is a more or less generalized infection of the skin, and sometimes of internal organs, with herpes simplex, vaccinia or Coxsackie virus A 16 ; it appears in people who have atopic dermatitis or some other skin diseases. There is a predilection for infants and children, but no age-group is exempt. We reported 3 cases of Kaposi's varicelliform eruption with atopic dermatitis. They had characteristic multiple umbilicated vesicles on the sites that atopic dermatitis had been involved. A 14-year-old boy and a 2-month-old infant had fever. A 17-year-old boy had wide-spread vesicles. All three patients showed multinucleated giant cells on Tzanck test, that suggests herpes simplex virus origin. They were treated with acyclovir. Within 1 to 2 days after the initiation of the therapy, new lesions had ceased to develop. Most of the lesions were cleared in 7 days without complication.