Papular acrodermatitis of childhood and other papulo-vesicular acro-located syndromes

Papular acrodermatitis of childhood (PAC), first recognized in Milan and described by Gianotti in 1955, is an infectious disease of childhood, of low infectivity, fairly widespread, and characterized by: 1 Non-relapsing erythemato-papular dermatitis localized to the face and limbs, lasting about 3 weeks. 2 Paracortical hyperplasia of lymph-nodes. 3 Acute hepatitis, usually anicteric, which lasts at least 2 months and may progress to chronic liver disease. 4 Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia, subtype ayw, which may persist for a long time. PAC must be differentiated from other frequent papular or papulo-vesicular acro-located eruptions of unknown origin, which should be classified as ‘Papulo-vesicular acro-located syndrome’ until their aetiology is clarified.