Gangrenous Purpura Fulminans Associated with Influenza A Infection
Türkay Akbaş
Department of Internal Medicine and Intensive Care Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Düzce University, Düzce, Turkey.
Elif Şenocak Taşçi *
Department of Internal Medicine, Düzce University, Faculty of Medicine, Düzce, Turkey.
Birgül Öneç
Department of Haematology, Düzce University, Faculty of Medicine, Düzce, Turkey.
Feruze Turan Sönmez
Department of Emergency Medicine, Düzce University, Faculty of Medicine, Düzce, Turkey.
Hakan Turan
Department of Dermatology, Düzce University, Faculty of Medicine, Düzce, Turkey.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background and Purpose: Purpura fulminans (PF) is a rapidly progressive disease of small-vessel thrombosis and hemorrhagic skin infarctions with high mortality and morbidity. Three forms of disease exist; neonatal, idiopathic and infectious. Infectious one usually appears secondary to gram-negative bacteremia and rarely secondary to viral infections.
Case Description: In this paper, we present a 27-year-old female patient with diagnosis of purpura fulminans secondary to Influenza A septicemia which is the first case reported in the literature.
Discussion: Several kinds of infection may cause purpura fulminans including rare viral infections so the clinician should be alert to diagnose and to treat purpura fulminans in case of purpuric and hemorrhagic lesions in patients with infectious diseases.
Keywords: Infarction, disseminated intravascular coagulation, pneumonia, purpura