Rash that itches and is all over: look beyond the skin

Abstract

Generalized pruritic rash in Hodgkin's disease is most commonly due to paraneoplastic manifestation. It can sometimes precede other manifestations of Hodgkin's disease by weeks or months. Hence, if other possible causes have been ruled out, Hodgkin's disease should be considered a possible cause of generalized pruritic rash. Consideration of Hodgkin's disease as a cause of generalized pruritic rash can help in early identification of Hodgkin's disease. We present a case of a 71-year-old female who presented to the hospital with generalized pruritic rash for 4 days. Further workup revealed Stage IV Hodgkin's disease. The rash completely disappeared after receiving chemotherapy, which established that the rash was paraneoplastic manifestation of Hodgkin's disease.

Keywords

• generalized rash
• Hodgkin's Disease
• paraneoplastic