Erythroderma: a follow-up of fifty cases.

Fifty consecutive cases of erythroderma were studied. The mean onset age was 61 years, and thirty-three of the fifty were male. As a causative factor, a preexisting dermatosis was identified in twenty-one cases, topical sensitization to drugs in six cases, reaction to internal drugs in five cases, and mycosis fungoides in two cases. In sixteen cases a causative factor could not be disclosed. A follow-up survey of the patients at a mean of 6 years after the start of the erythroderma indicated that seventeen patients had cleared completely, twelve patients had less symptoms than initially, and six suffered from undiminished erythroderma. Ten patients had died from causes unrelated to the erythroderma. It is concluded that the underlying causes for erythroderma have remained rather unchanged during several decades, and that the majority of present-day erythroderma patients can expect a favorable prognosis.