Emergency & Acute Care Medicine

Dermatologic Emergencies

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Dermatologic problems represent about 15%–20% of visits to family physicians and emergency departments. Life-threatening dermatologic conditions include Rocky Mountain spotted fever; necrotizing fasciitis; toxic epidermal necrolysis; and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. It is necessary to acquire skills in ‘emergency dermatology’, where a dermatologist’s right decision and intervention can make an important difference between life and death. Emergencies in dermatology are best categorized into primary skin diseases and severe systemic disorders with cutaneous manifestations.

Dermatologic Emergencies could all lead to acute skin failure with its attendant sequelae such as sepsis, multi organ failure and pulmonary embolism. Skin failure is an emerging concept which refers to a state of total dysfunction of the skin resulting from different aetiological factors.