Authors
Hendra Gunawan ¹, Risa Miliawati Nurul Hidayah ¹, Reiva Farah Dwiyana ¹,Trustia Rizqandaru ¹, Reti Hindritiani ¹, Hermin Aminah Usman ², Ranisa Larasati ¹

Affiliations

¹Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran – Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia; ²Department of Pathological Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran – Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

Background

• Leprosy is a chronic disease affecting the skin and nerves, while generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a rare, severe autoimmune skin condition.

• Their coexistence is extremely rare due to very different genetic and immune profiles.

Methods

• Case report of a 28-year-old woman presenting with both mid-borderline leprosy and severe generalized pustular psoriasis.

• Diagnosis combined slit-skin smear, Gram staining, and histopathology of both anesthetic patches and pustular lesions.

Key Results

• Slit-skin smear showed a bacterial index of 1+, and Gram staining of pustules showed no bacteria.

• Histopathology confirmed leprosy granulomas in one set of lesions and features of generalized pustular psoriasis in another.

• She was treated with WHO multidrug therapy for leprosy plus systemic corticosteroids, with marked improvement within 47 days.

Discussion & Conclusion

• This case highlights the importance of recognizing rare coexisting skin conditions with very different underlying mechanisms.

• A comprehensive diagnostic approach and prompt combined management led to a favourable outcome.

Related SDGs

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being – Improving diagnosis of complex, overlapping skin diseases

Journal Information

Journal: Clinical Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/CCID.S599655