Eosinophilic fasciitis. Case report and review of the literature

Eosinophilic fasciitis is a recently described rheumatic disease, some 20 cases having been reported in abstract form. Previous descriptions have stressed the localized nature of skin involvement, the absence of visceral changes or Raynaud's phenomenon, an association with hypergammaglobulinaemia and eosinophilia, and a good response to corticosteroid therapy. The most conspicuous feature of this entity has been a massive thickening of the subcutaneous fascia, when an adequate (skin down to muscle) biopsy has been performed. We report another case conforming to these general features, with the exception that Raynaud's phenomenon was a prominent symptom. A critical review of the literature suggests that eosinophilic fasciitis should tentatively be regarded as a variant of scleroderma.