Scabies, caused by Sarcoptes scabiei, is one of the most common parasitic infections in humans. While the clinical presentation is typical in most cases, some forms may represent a diagnostic dilemma.
The following report describes a rare manifestation of scabies in an 18-year-old female in whom the pruritic dermatosis was accompanied by haemorrhagic diathesis resembling cutaneous vasculitis. The scabies-associated vasculitis has only been reported in few individual cases worldwide, our experience thus further strengthens the evidence of such association and warrants the inclusion of scabies into differential diagnostics of pruritic purpura.
In our case, the pivotal tool in establishing the correct diagnosis after excluding various haematologic, oncologic, immunopathologic and infectious aetiologies was a detailed and repeated assessment of the past medical history of the patient.