Abstract
We have experienced 33 cases of anaphylactoid purpura (AP) in adults (≧20 years old) in the past 6 years. Ten of these cases in the elderly (≧60 years old) were analyzed for their back ground. In the elderly, the frequencies of arthralgia (30%/52%) and abdominal complaints (10%/43%) were significantly lower than those in the younger adults (from 20 to 59 year old), but the frequencies of leg edema (70%/8%), ascites (20%/0%), bloody vesicles (40%/0%), mucosal purpura (10%/0%) and body weight loss (20%/0%) were higher. The frequencies of renal involvement were high (70%/65%) in both groups. These results indicate both systemic complications and skin lesions have variability in the elderly. Eight of these 10 cases in the elderly had underlying diseases, including malignant tumors in 5 of them. Bacterial infection also proceeded in 9 cases. These results suggest that AP in the elderly may be strongly related to underlying diseases and, therefore, that we should classify it as a dermadrome.
