JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, cilt.32, sa.10, ss.839-842, 2005 (SCI-Expanded)
Henoch-Scholein purpura is usually a disease of children presenting with arthralgia, abdominal pain, renal involvement, and palpable purpura. Viral and bacterial infections may have a role in its etiology. We present a 32-year-old male patient with recurrent Henoch-Scholein purpura in association with a chronic hepatitis B infection of ten years duration. The patient had received lamuvudine and interferon-alpha for the treatment of hepatitis B infection for a year. The skin lesions disappeared with the treatment of the hepatitis B infection. Four months after discontinuation of the therapy, the purpuric papules reappeared with reactivation of the hepatitis B infection. Although rarely reported, hepatitis B virus infection should be considered in patients with Henoch-Scholein purpura.