What diseases may erythema nodosum cause

Some younger women always feel pain in their bodies for no reason, and there will be purple-red nodules on the front of their calves. This symptom means that they may be suffering from erythema nodosum. This is a common disease among young women, usually caused by infection with streptococci. So, what other diseases can erythema nodosum cause?

This disease can also appear as a concomitant symptom in certain diseases, such as sarcoid, leprosy, ulcerative colitis, regional enteritis, lymphoma, leukemia, Behcet's disease, connective tissue disease, etc. The pathogenesis of EN is not fully understood. Some people believe that it may be a delayed allergic reaction of the body to certain pathogenic microorganism antigens; others believe that it is an immune complex disease.

Causes

Streptococcal infection:

Some patients may develop the disease after upper respiratory tract infection, pharyngitis and acute tonsillitis. Two domestic groups reported that 68.2% of patients had rheumatic joint pain and 25.6% had tonsillitis, while the incidence in other reports was very low, which shows that the disease is related to streptococcal infection, but it is not the only causative factor.

Tuberculosis infection:

Since Uffelmana proposed in 1872 that this disease is related to tuberculosis infection, it has gradually attracted people's attention. More and more evidence shows that this disease is closely related to tuberculosis infection. Domestic statistics show that more than 60% of patients have concurrent tuberculosis infection, old tuberculosis lesions, or positive tuberculin test. It is believed that this disease is an allergic reaction of the body to tuberculosis or its toxins.

Other reasons:

Certain drugs, especially bromides and sulfonamides, are the most common causes of this disease. Others such as coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, cat scratch fever, tinea versicolor, ulcerative colitis, sarcoidosis, Behcet's disease, leprosy and lymphogranuloma venereum can be accompanied by erythema nodosum. In addition, viral infections are related to this disease. Other rare causes such as acute vulvar ulcers, acute and chronic leukemia can also be associated with this disease.

The etiology is complex and is generally believed to be related to infection, especially streptococcal infection and drug reaction. Favone and Sosman analyzed 155 cases of EN and found that more than 80% had upper respiratory tract infection before the onset of symptoms, of which 50% were pharyngitis caused by p-hemolytic streptococci. Tuberculosis is also an important inducing factor, especially in children. In addition, viral and fungal infections, and drugs such as bromide, iodide, and sulfonamide can also induce the disease. Recently, there have been reports of people taking oral contraceptives becoming ill.

Pathogenesis

1. This disease is a skin allergy caused by many reasons. The true pathogenesis is still unclear. Some people believe that it is an allergic vasculitis, but the use of immunofluorescence technology has not been able to find immune complex deposition in necrotizing or allergic vasculitis. Some people also believe that this disease is a delayed allergic reaction of blood vessels to microorganisms or other antigens.

2. The main pathological changes occur in the subcutaneous fat layer and the septa of subdermal fat lobules. In the early stage of acute inflammatory response, it is mainly neutrophil infiltration, accompanied by a small amount of lymphocytes, eosinophils and a small amount of red blood cells. As the disease progresses, neutrophils quickly disappear and are replaced by infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells and tissue cells. In the septa of fat lobules, giant cells may appear accompanied by obvious fibrin exudation, thickening of vascular walls, endothelial cell proliferation and lumen occlusion, without abscesses and caseous necrosis, and the epidermis is generally normal.

For patients, it is necessary to rest in bed in time, stop working, and it is best not to do housework. Try to raise the affected limb as much as possible, which can relieve some symptoms. To completely cure the disease, you must find the cause of the disease, avoid excessive mental stress, and avoid eating spicy and greasy foods. Medication should be used properly and not be used indiscriminately.