On the role of skin biopsy in the diagnosis of calcific uremic arteriolopathy: a case-based discussion

Calciphylaxis is a rare disease characterized by ectopic calcification of skin arterioles resulting in ischemia, thrombosis and necrosis. Since end stage renal disease patients are those mainly affected, the term calcific uremic arteriolopathy (CUA) is also suggested. Early clinical manifestations are subtle, while overt necrotic ulcers may quickly spread and become infected so as to result in ominous outcome. Diagnosis might not be easy due to the number of other ischemic and non-ischemic skin lesions observed in uraemia. Skin biopsy, has been proposed as the diagnostic test and is often considered, but not systematically performed due to the hypothetical risk of further spreading of the lesions. Such ambiguity could be responsible for misdiagnosis or underdiagnosis. We review here five consecutive cases recorded in our Unit, all submitted to skin biopsy but with inconsistent results which generated some clinical frustration. Thus, we decided to carefully re-evaluate all of them together with pathologists and dermatologists. However, even after this ex-post discussion, we could not reach a complete agreement on the final diagnosis. In the meanwhile, papers were published in the literature that started to shed some light on the role of skin biopsy in the diagnosis of CUA.