Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy

T. J. Lawley, K. C. Hertz, T. R. Wade, A. B. Ackerman and S. I. Katz

We report an intensely pruritic cutaneous eruption that occurs in the third trimester of pregnancy. The clinical manifestations include erythematous urticarial papules and plaques that begin on the abdomen and spread to involve the thighs and occasionally the buttocks and arms. This dermatosis appears to be clinically distinct from previously described pruritic eruptions occurring in pregnancy. Biopsy specimens of the lesions show two histological patterns. We propose that this entity be termed "pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP)".