Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome

Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome
Classification and external resources
ICD-10 L00
ICD-9 695.81
DiseasesDB 29437
eMedicine derm/402 emerg/782
MeSH D013206

Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, SSSS, also known as Pemphigus neonatorum[1] or Ritter's disease,[1] or Localized bullous impetigo is a dermatological condition caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

Contents

Pathophysiology

The syndrome is induced by epidermolytic exotoxins (exfoliatin)[2] A and B, which are released by S. aureus and cause detachment within the epidermal layer. One of the exotoxins is produced by the bacterial chromosome, while the other is produced by a plasmid. (Bacterial plasmids are pieces of self-replicating DNA that often code for secondary characteristics, such as antibiotic resistance, and toxin production.) These exotoxins are proteases that cleave desmoglein-1, which normally holds the granulosum and spinosum layers together.

Symptoms

The disease presents with the widespread formation of fluid filled blisters that are thin walled and easily ruptured and the patient can be positive for Nikolsky's sign. Ritter's Disease of the Newborn is the most severe form of SSSS with similar signs and symptoms.

See also

History

The clinical features were first described in 1878 by Baron Gottfried Ritter von Rittershain, who observed 297 cases among children in a single Czechoslovakian children's home over a 10-year period.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Rapini, Ronald P.; Bolognia, Jean L.; Jorizzo, Joseph L. (2007). Dermatology: 2-Volume Set. St. Louis: Mosby. ISBN 1-4160-2999-0. 
  2. ^ "exfoliatin" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
  3. ^ "Epidemiology of Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome in Germany". Journal of Investigative Dermatology 124 (4). doi:10.1111/j.0022-202X.2005.23642.x. http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v124/n4/full/5602759a.html. Retrieved 2 August 2020.