DOI: 10.7241/ourd.20123.54                                                                                   article in PDF
Our Dermatol Online. 2012; 3(3): 231
Date of submission: 28.03.2012 / acceptance: 18.04.2012
Conflicts of interest: None
 
PURPURA FOLLOWING A RARE ETIOLOGY; A DIAGNOSTIC DILEMMA

Nithya Raghunath1, Sreekar Harinatha2, Sreeharsha Harinatha3

1Department of Dermatology, MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital, Bangalore, India
2Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
3Department of Urology, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, India

Corresponding author: Dr. Sreekar Harinatha      e-mail:drsreekarh@yahoo.com

How to cite an article: Raghunath N, Harinatha S, Harinatha S. Purpura following a rare etiology; a diagnostic dilemmaon the back. Our Dermatol Online 2012; 3(3): 231.


 
     Sir,
Jatropha Curcas poisoning is a fairly common occurrence in Indian population [1,2]. It follows ingestion of the plant’s nuts. It generally manifests with complaints of vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea [3]. These are attributed to the Toxalbumin, Curcin and cyanic acid found in these nuts. Though it generally presents with symptoms of mild gastroenteritis, it may sometimes be severe enough to cause hypovolemic shock. We came across an 8 year old child who presented with these symptoms following consumption of the Jatropha Curcas nuts. She also presented with newly developed purpuric spots over whole of the body (Fig. 1). They were especially prominent over the knees. Her blood work-up did not reveal any other cause of the purpurae. There were no signs of vasculitis either. She was managed conservatively with fluid resuscitation. The purpuric spots resolved over 3 weeks. We conclude that, though poisonong following Jatropha Curcas results in gastroenteritis, it can also result in purpuric spots. This is the first known dermatologic manifestation and may be misinterpreted by the unwary physician.
 
Figure 1. Multiple purpuric spots over the lower limbs
 
REFERENCES
1. Kulkarni ML, Sreekar H, Keshavamurthy KS, Shenoy N: Jatropha Curcas – Poisoning. Indian J Pediatr. 2005; 72: 75-76. 2. Shah V, Sanmukhani J: Five cases of Jatropha curcas poisoning. J Assoc Physicians India. 2010; 58: 245-246. 3. Joubert PH, Brown JM, Hay IT, Sebata PD: Acute poisoning with Jatropha curcas (purging nut tree) in children. S Afr Med J. 1984; 65: 729-730.

 

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