Subcorneal pustular dermatosis and pustular psoriasis. A clinicopathologic correlation.

The relationship between subcorneal pustular dermatosis (SCPD) and pustular psoriasis is discussed on the basis of a study of 23 patients with SCPD seen at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn, since 1956. In seven of the 23 patients, pustular psoriasis subsequently developed, and in three other patients there was associated psoriasis vulgaris. It was impossible to make a histopathologic distinction between SCPD and some cases of pustular psoriasis. The response to therapy with sulfones was erratic, if not ineffective. Our data suggest that disease identical to SCPD is, in many instances, strongly associated biologically, clinically, and histopathologically with psoriasis, and that continued observation of the clinical course may further substantiate this relationship in many cases.