| Livedo reticularis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Livedo reticularis secondary to obscure severe infrarenal aortoiliac stenosis with severe transient lactic acidosis. | |
| Specialty | Dermatology, cardiology  |
| Symptoms | Purpura, mottling of the skin, blood clots, skin discoloration |
| Causes | Autoimmune diseases, hyperlipidemia, poisons, drug abuse |
Livedo reticularis is a common skin finding consisting of a mottled reticulated vascular pattern that appears as a lace-like purplish discoloration of the skin.[1] The discoloration is caused by reduction in blood flow (ischemia) through the arterioles that supply the cutaneous capillaries, resulting in deoxygenated blood showing as blue discoloration (cyanosis). This can be a secondary effect of a condition that increases a person's risk of forming blood clots (thrombosis), including a wide array of pathological and nonpathological conditions. Examples include hyperlipidemia, microvascular hematological or anemia states, nutritional deficiencies, hyper- and autoimmune diseases, and drugs/toxins.
The condition may be normal or related to more severe underlying pathology.[2] Its differential diagnosis is broadly divided into possible blood diseases, autoimmune (rheumatologic), cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and endocrine disorders. It can usually (in 80% of cases) be diagnosed by biopsy.[3]
It may be aggravated by exposure to cold, and occurs most often in the lower extremities.[4]
The condition's name derives from Latin livere 'bluish' and reticular 'net-like pattern'.[5]
- ^ Rapini, Ronald P.; Bolognia, Jean L.; Jorizzo, Joseph L. (2007). Dermatology: 2-Volume Set. St. Louis: Mosby. p. 1615. ISBN 978-1-4160-2999-1.
- ^ "livedo reticularis" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- ^ Kroshinsky; Stone, John H.; Bloch, Donald B.; Sepehr, Alireza (February 2009). "Case 5-2009 — A 47-Year-Old Woman with a Rash and Numbness and Pain in the Legs". New England Journal of Medicine. 360 (7): 711–20. doi:10.1056/NEJMcpc0807822. PMID 19213685.
- ^ James, William D.; Elston, Dirk; Treat, James R.; Rosenbach, Misha A.; Neuhaus, Isaac (2020). "35.Cutaneous vascular diseases". Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology (13th ed.). Edinburgh: Elsevier. p. 817. ISBN 978-0-323-54753-6. Archived from the original on 2023-03-18. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
- ^ Sundriyal, Deepak; Kumar, Naveen; Kumar, Gaurav; Walia, Meenu (15 May 2014). "Livedo reticularis heralding hypercalcaemia of malignancy". BMJ Case Reports. 2014 (may14 4): bcr2013201371. doi:10.1136/bcr-2013-201371. PMC 4024535. PMID 24832704.