Reiter's syndrome of the vulva. The psoriasis spectrum.

BACKGROUND: Reiter's syndrome is a disease characterized by crusted, scaling, acral and genital plaques; urethritis or cervicitis; and arthritis, which occur in genetically susceptible patients in response to any of many infections. This disease rarely occurs in women, and specific characterizations of vulvar and cervical lesions are rare.

OBSERVATIONS: We describe a 39-year-old woman with a history of mucocutaneous candidiasis that was refractory to oral ketoconazole therapy. She presented with well-demarcated, erythematous, crusted plaques over the vulva, hands, and feet, as well as with cervical lesions and a history of conjunctivitis and iritis. Following the biopsy of characteristic skin lesions, recognition of systemic signs, and cultures that were negative for yeast, her condition was diagnosed as Reiter's syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS: Reiter's syndrome of the vulva, vagina, and cervix may not be recognized because of its uncommon occurrence in women and the physician's consequent unfamiliarity with its clinical appearance in the genital area. This disease and pustular psoriasis share many common features and exist on a spectrum. A high index of suspicion and correlation of the many facets of the disease will better enable the clinician to make this diagnosis.