Dermatology Online Journal

Neutrophilic urticarial dermatosis (NUD) is a useful diagnostic term for urticarial lesions that are less pruritic and more painful than conventional urticaria. The histopathologic features include neutrophilic infiltrates in the interstitial dermis with a higher density than idiopathic urticaria. NUD has been associated with several systemic conditions, which are predominantly autoimmune and autoinflammatory in nature. A woman with Crohn disease who developed NUD is described. Literature reports of other conditions in which neutrophilic urticarial dermatosis have been observed are also reviewed and summarized. NUD has not only been described in the setting of inflammatory bowel disease, but also in patients who have systemic lupus erythematosus, adult-onset Still disease, and IgA gammopathy. NUD is usually associated with an underlying disease. Therapeutic agents that target neutrophils (such as dapsone and colchicine) and antagonists to interleukin-1 receptor (such as anakinra) may be effective modalities for affected patients. NUD can be added to the list of dermatologic manifestations associated with systemic inflammation, particularly inflammatory bowel disease.