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European Journal of Dermatology

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Multiple rheumatoid papules characteristic of the early stage of rheumatoid vasculitis Volume 9, issue 4, June 1999

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Authors
Department of Dermatology, Surugadai Nihon University Hospital, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8309, Japan.

The rheumatoid papule has recently been described as the skin manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The papules represent leukocytoclastic vasculitis and necrobiosis clinicopathologically. We report a 59-year-old Japanese woman with multiple recurrent rheumatoid papules located on the bilateral extensor forearms in correlation with the level of RA activity and as a cutaneous manifestation of rheumatoid vasculitis. These papules appeared prior to other cutaneous manifestations. It was suggested that rheumatoid papules represent the early stage of rheumatoid vasculitis and that they are a reliable early clinical marker of rheumatoid vasculitis.