Reactive perforating collagenosis in Hodgkin's disease.

Two patients with Hodgkin's disease developed a condition that has been termed "reactive perforating collagenosis." In both cases, pruritus was severe and seemed to be responsible for the vigorous rubbing and scratching that caused the skin lesions. In one patient, the lesions disappeared upon remission of Hodgkin's disease. Perforating collagenosis has been described in children as a hereditary disease, and has also been described in adults with diabetes and on hemodialysis. On the basis of the changes seen in our two patients with Hodgkin's disease, we suggest that perforating collagenosis is simply a consequence of intense scratching.