Blisters and Milia around the Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter: A Case of Localized Bullous Pemphigoid

Abstract

We report on the appearance of multiple tense blisters surrounding the exit site of a Tenckhoff catheter in a 79-year-old woman with end-stage renal disease in peritoneal dialysis. The differential diagnoses included a contact allergic or irritative dermatitis to peritoneal dialysis catheter material and antiseptic agents, bacterial infection, and herpes virus infection, but milia were a clue for a subepidermal blistering disease and lead to appropriate investigations. The laboratory findings, the histopathological examination and the direct immunofluorescence assay confirmed the diagnosis of localized bullous pemphigoid. The disorder typically occurs in elderly people and may be related to drugs, hematological malignancies or neurological conditions but it can also be a complication of hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis.

Keywords

• bullous pemphigoid
• bullous dermatoses
• dialysis
• peritoneal dialysis