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Quiz

Dermatology

Pruritic Rash and Diarrhea

Educational Objective
Based on this clinical scenario and the accompanying image, understand how to arrive at a correct diagnosis.

1 Credit CME

JAMA

Published Online: March 16, 2021

JAMA Clinical Challenge

Article Information and Disclosures

Hiroyuki Yano, MD¹;

Mitsuyo Kinjo, MD, MPH¹

Author Affiliations

¹Okinawa Chubu Hospital, Uruma, Japan

Read article on JAMA Network

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An 82-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with 2 months of diarrhea and 2 weeks of rash. She had sustained a left radius fracture 6 months prior, which resulted in deconditioning and poor appetite. Her diet consisted of mostly vegetables, and she lost 4 kg (8.8 lb) during this time. Two months prior, she developed postprandial nonbloody diarrhea that occurred 5 times daily. Two weeks prior, a pruritic rash in her extremities emerged. She had no fever, night sweats, or abdominal pain. Past medical history included chronic nondeforming rheumatoid arthritis, hypothyroidism, and colon adenocarcinoma resected 10 years prior. Her medications were prednisolone (1 mg/d) and levothyroxine.

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An 82-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with 2 months of diarrhea and 2 weeks of rash. She had sustained a left radius fracture 6 months prior, which resulted in deconditioning and poor appetite. Her diet consisted of mostly vegetables, and she lost 4 kg (8.8 lb) during this time. Two months prior, she developed postprandial nonbloody diarrhea that occurred 5 times daily. Two weeks prior, a pruritic rash in her extremities emerged. She had no fever, night sweats, or abdominal pain. Past medical history included chronic nondeforming rheumatoid arthritis, hypothyroidism, and colon adenocarcinoma resected 10 years prior. Her medications were prednisolone (1 mg/d) and levothyroxine.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Mitsuyo Kinjo, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine, Okinawa Chubu Hospital, 281 Miyasato, Uruma 9042293, Japan (kinjomitsuyo@gmail.com).

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Additional Contributions: We thank the patient’s daughter for granting permission to publish this information. We also thank Lisa Rucker, MD, MS (Department of General Internal Medicine, Jacobi Medical Center, New York), and Rita McGill, MD, MS (Department of Nephrology, University of Chicago), for English correction of the manuscript.

References

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AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 credit toward the CME [and Self-Assessment requirements] of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.