Papulovesicular light eruption. A defined subset of polymorphous light eruption.

A distinctive photodermatitis is seen commonly in tourists visiting Hawaii. Analysis of 150 cases revealed that the eruption is acute in onset following exposure to sunlight, is confined to exposed areas, and mainly affects young to middle-aged white women. The clinical presentation is remarkably uniform, consisting of papules, papulovesicles, or vesicles. These findings are consistent with a diagnosis of polymorphous light eruption (PMLE) and the histologic picture supports this diagnosis. Other clinical variants of PMLE were not seen in our patients, however, which suggests that this condition is more monomorphous than polymorphous. We suggest papulovesicular light eruption as a suitable name for this common and distinctive subset of PMLE.