Erythema Nodosum Due to Yersinia Enterocolitica

Abstract

On the basis of high agglutinin titres, Yersinia enterocolitica infections were found to be the probable cause of erythema nodosum in 10 of 102 unselected adult patients. Eight of them, but none of the other 92 patients, had gastrointestinal symptoms preceding the eruption. The characteristic features were pain in upper abdomen and/or diarrhea 2–21 days before the appearance of the nodes. The duration of the nodular eruption was only 9–22 days, which is markedly less than in cases due to other causes. Not a single case of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection was found in this series of adult patients from Finland.