Specific Dermatoses of Pregnancy: Toward a Comprehensive View?

THE INFLAMMATORY dermatoses that occur during pregnancy have been reported under a variety of confusing terms, such as erythema multiforme of pregnancy,¹ prurigo annularis,² toxaemic rash of pregnancy,³ prurigo gestationis of Besnier,⁴ late-onset prurigo of pregnancy (PP),⁵ pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy,⁶ and papular dermatitis of pregnancy.⁷ Only dermatologists could have so many denominations for clinical situations whose exact pathogenesis and cause are not known and that may in fact belong to the same disease entity!

With the exception of pemphigoid (herpes) gestationis (PG), we know of no criteria that can be used to differentiate these conditions.⁸ Holmes and Black^9,10 came to a similar conclusion and, in an attempt to rationalize the obsolete nomenclature, proposed a classification that included four entities: PG, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy (PEP), PP, and pruritic folliculitis of pregnancy (PFP).¹⁰ The hope that this