Psoriasis or crusted scabies.

Author(s): Goyal NN, Wong GA

Affiliation(s): Department of Dermatology, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, Liverpool, UK. madhunil11@aol.com

Publication date & source: 2008-03, Clin Exp Dermatol., 33(2):211-2.

Publication type: Case Reports; Review

We describe a case of a 67-year-old woman with a 1-year history of nail thickening and a non-itchy erythematous scaly eruption on the fingertips. She was diagnosed with psoriasis and started on methotrexate after having had no response to topical calcipotriol. The diagnosis was reviewed after it was revealed by another consultant that the patient's husband had been attending dermatology clinics for several years with chronic pruritus, which had been repeatedly thought to be due to scabies. Our patient was found to have crusted scabies after a positive skin scraping showed numerous mites. She was treated with topical permethrin, keratolytics and oral ivermectin. We also review the literature on crusted scabies and its management, with recommendations.