The Red Flag

Wobser et al present a case study of a 43-year-old man, who was diagnosed with malignant atrophic papulosis or Degos' disease, which is a rare, multisystem small-vessel disease of uncertain etiology. There is no standard treatment for malignant atrophic papulosis. In an attempt to correct presumed underlying causes, various drugs have been tried, including anti-platelet agents, such as aspirin and dipyridamole, heparin, fibrinolytics, thalidomide, anti-inflammatory agents, and corticosteroids. In the case, symptomatic, emergency, and palliative treatment of ischemic complications is demanded. However, for solely cutaneous forms of malignant atrophic papulosis, treatment with anti-platelet agents has shown some clinical effect in stabilizing or even reducing skin lesions; this would be the most promising therapeutic approach to date. After they excluded any systemic involvement, they began treating out patient with aspirin, 300 mg, daily. He is followed with regular clinical and diagnostic examinations, and at his 6- and 9-month visits, no signs of disease progression were evident.