Intractable Postoperative Wounds Caused by Self-Inflicted Trauma in a Patient with Cutaneous Munchausen Syndrome Presenting as a Pyoderma Gangrenosum-Like Lesion

A 50-year-old Japanese woman consulted the emergency department of our hospital for bleeding due to an intractable postoperative wound on the lower abdomen; the postoperative wound was owing to a laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed 1 year previously for acute cholecystitis. She presented with a painful ulcer on her right lower abdomen. She also presented with multiple scars, skin grafts on the extremities, and a missing left lower leg, the causes for all of which were unexplained. The results of her blood test were normal, except for the hemoglobin level. Histology of the skin biopsy specimen from the ulcer did not show any specific findings. The previous surgeon who had performed the laparoscopic cholecystectomy revealed that surgical wound dehiscence had occurred during her admission. After a body restraint had been applied, the ulcer improved. Medical records indicated that she had been admitted to the department of plastic surgery at our hospital for skin grafting of a leg ulcer. During that admission, she refused to consult with the department of psychiatry, although the staff suspected mental disorders. Therefore, we diagnosed her with cutaneous Munchausen syndrome. After vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy had been performed to prevent her from traumatizing the ulcer again, it rapidly became granulated and reepithelialized. Munchausen syndrome is characterized by feigning physical symptoms to seek attention. Patients self-inflict numerous lesions, keep getting admitted to different hospitals, and feign acute illness, usually spectacular diseases. VAC therapy may be effective for preventing patients with cutaneous Munchausen syndrome from traumatizing their wounds

Bazex Syndrome in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma: High Expression of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Lesional Keratinocytes with Th2 Immune Shift

An 82-year-old Japanese man was referred for detailed examination of hyperkeratotic erythematous plaques on his palms and soles for 6 months. Two weeks before his first visit, he had undergone lung lobectomy for right lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Laboratory findings showed elevations of eosinophil counts, serum IgE, thymus and activation-regulated chemokine, SCC antigen, and soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels. Histological results of a skin biopsy involving the left palm showed psoriasiform dermatitis. Before lung lobectomy, the hyperkeratotic erythematous plaques on the palms and soles and the erythemas on the trunk and extremities were difficult to treat with topical steroids. After lobectomy, the skin symptoms dramatically and rapidly subsided with topical steroids. Therefore, we diagnosed Bazex syndrome (BS), also known as acrokeratosis paraneoplastica, as a paraneoplastic cutaneous disease in lung SCC. The mild eosinophilia subsided and levels of SCC antigen, IgE, and soluble interleukin-2 receptor were reduced. BS is a paraneoplastic cutaneous disease characterized by acral psoriasiform lesions associated with an underlying neoplasm. In a previous report, a shift to the Th2 immune condition was found in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, as shown in our patient. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is also known as tumor growth factor-α receptor; it is increased in psoriatic keratinocytes. In our case, EGFR expression increased in lesional keratinocytes 2 weeks after surgery and decreased 4 weeks after surgery. We speculate that a shift to Th2 immune reactions in lung SCC may be the pathogenesis of BS, whereby lesional keratinocytes highly express EGFR in parallel with disease activity