Maculopapular sarcoidosis: the importance of skin signs

Abstract

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease that affects the skin in 20 to 30% of cases. Skin findings are often the initial presenting signs, and cutaneous sarcoidosis may appear with a wide variety of lesions; it is often considered an imitator of many other skin diseases. Clinical appearance and specific dermoscopic criteria, confirmed by a typical pathology, may guide to the correct diagnosis. We report a case of a man affected by maculo-papular sarcoidosis on the back, in which the detection of cutaneous lesions was the initial step to determine the systemic nature of the disease.

Keywords

• sarcoidosis, skin signs, maculopapular lesions