Images in Clinical Medicine

Bacterial Perianal Dermatitis

Heikki Peltola, M.D.

N Engl J Med 2000; 342:1877June 22, 2000

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Figure 1 A four-year-old boy was seen by the pediatrician because of difficulty sleeping and intense pruritus in the anal region, with a three-day history of local redness in the anal region. His mother had attempted to relieve the itching by washing the area with soap and water and applying a nonprescription cream. On examination, the boy looked healthy; did not have a fever, tonsillitis, or scarlet fever; and had no symptoms or signs except a sharply demarcated area of erythema, approximately 5 cm in diameter, around the anus. There was no satellite dermatitis elsewhere. A swab of the infected area was obtained for a rapid Streptococcus pyogenes antigen test (Strep A, Abbott), and the results were positive. A seven-day course of penicillin V was successful. One week later, the dermatitis and itching had virtually disappeared.

Heikki Peltola, M.D.
University of Helsinki, 00290 Helsinki, Finland

Citing Articles (4)

Citing Articles

1. 1

   David A. Clark. (2012) The end of evidence-based medicine?. Inflammopharmacology
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2. 2

   C. B. Bunker, S. M. Neill. 2010. The Genital, Perianal and Umbilical Regions. , 1-102.
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   C. B. Bunker, F. Gotch. 2010. , 1.
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4. 4

   J. Schauber. (2010) Topische Therapie des perianalen Ekzems. Der Hautarzt 61:1, 33-38
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