The Basics

When your dermatologist entered the diagnostic code L44.0 into your medical record, the diagnosis of pityriasis rubra pilaris became official. If you now question the accuracy of that diagnosis – for any reason – ask your dermatologist to confirm the following: ❏ What SPECIFIC clinical observations were made that supported the “official” diagnosis of PRP?

Editor’s Note – Dan M, Rutland, Vermont, a dermatologist, was diagnosed with PRP in July, 2015 and is currently in remission. He recently posted the following to fellow members of the PRP Facebook Support Group “PRP can mimic other much more common skin like contact dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. A biopsy can be helpful. Unfortunately,

The PRP timeline varies from sequential to haphazard. For some PRP patients the inflammation spreads like a wildfire. Others watch a slow, methodical movement from “hither to yon” where neither hither nor yon is predictable. Here are some of the symptoms fellow PRP patients and their caregivers have reported. ❏½ The skin on the palms

When a dermatologist examines a patient who will eventually be diagnosed with PRP, they may see signs and symptoms that suggest a more common skin disorder. When that dermatologist combines medical training, clinical observations and biopsies and makes a diagnosis of psoriasis or atopic dermatitis, it is called a differential diagnosis – not a mistake.

The rendering of an “official” diagnosis of pityriasis rubra pilaris requires two elements: clinical observation AND a biopsy that “supports” a diagnosis of PRP. Clinical observations of a trained dermatologist When a yet-to-be diagnosed PRP patient is seen by a dermatologist, the scope of the symptoms may vary from a small persistent spot on the