Fibrosing skin condition among patients with renal disease--United States and Europe, 1997-2002.

During May 1997-November 2000, eight (3%) of 265 kidney transplant recipients at a hospital in California developed an unusual skin condition posttransplant (Figure 1). On clinical examination, the patients had fibrotic skin lesions histologically resembling scleromyxedema on their distal extremities and trunk, resulting in severe contractions and limited mobility. However, the usual IgG lambda paraprotein associated with scleromyxedema was not observed in these patients. Personnel in the dermatopathology section at the University of California, San Francisco, reviewed the biopsies and concluded that this skin disorder had not been described previously. As a result, health-care providers at the hospital where the index patient was treated asked the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) and CDC to assist in the investigation. This report summarizes preliminary findings from the investigation.