What causes palpable purpura?

What causes palpable purpura?

Palpable purpura can have a variety of causes, including infection (10% to 15%), drug exposure, immunization, and autoimmune disease. The most common infectious causes of palpable purpura include N. meningitidis, S. aureus, and N.

What does palpable purpura mean?

Palpable purpura is a condition where purpura, which constitutes visible non-blanching hemorrhages, are raised and able to be touched or felt upon palpation. It indicates some sort of vasculitis secondary to a serious disease.

Is Henoch Schonlein purpura palpable?

Henoch-Schönlein purpura is an acute, systemic, immune complex-mediated, leukocytoclastic vasculitis. It is characterized by a triad of palpable purpura (without thrombocytopenia), abdominal pain, and arthritis. Most patients have an antecedent upper respiratory illness.

Is thrombocytopenic purpura palpable?

Purpura is divided into two major categories: nonpalpable (macular) and palpable (papular). Nonpalpable purpura results from bleeding into the skin without inflammation of the vessels and is caused by either a bleeding disorder or blood vessel fragility.

What causes ecchymosis?

Ecchymosis is usually caused by an injury, such as a bump, blow, or fall. This impact may cause a blood vessel to burst open leaking blood under the skin, creating a bruise. While bruises are very common and affect almost everyone, women tend get them more easily than others do.

How do you treat palpable purpura?

Many cases of palpable purpura are idiopathic and self-limited. When treatment is necessary, dapsone, colchicine or systemic corticosteroids are useful drugs.

What is the difference between purpura and petechiae?

Petechiae are small (1–3 mm), red, nonblanching macular lesions caused by intradermal capillary bleeding (Figure 181-1). Purpura are larger, typically raised lesions resulting from bleeding within the skin (Figures 181-2 and 181-3).

Is ecchymosis palpable?

Ecchymosis is, by definition, visible and is usually not palpated as a mass.

What causes periorbital ecchymosis?

Periorbital ecchymosis or raccoon eye is produced by blood tracking into periorbital tissues, causing blue or purple discoloration of the upper and lower eyelids, which is a frequent symptom after traumatic injuries to the head and neck, including basal skull fractures, soft tissue injuries, convexity fractures, and …

What does palpable purpura look like?

A variety of rashes, the most classic of which is “palpable purpura” –purplish–red spots, usually found on the legs. These spots can usually be felt by the examiner’s fingertips, hence the descriptor “palpable”. This is a classic example of palpable purpura.