Morphoea profunda and its relationship to eosinophilic fasciitis

Summary

In this small case series, all eight patients were women in their fifth and sixth decades. This is similar to the female predominance in morphoea and less in keeping with eosinophilic fasciitis (EF). All cases had diffuse induration of their limbs with both proximal and distal patterns of distribution, and five of the patients exhibited peau d'orange skin. All patients had diffuse induration of the lower limbs and half had restricted ankle movements. Six patients had concomitant superficial morphoea. This group of patients demonstrated a unique subtype of the morphoea spectrum with some features overlapping with EF. However, there appear to be points of distinction, and we propose that some previously reported cases labelled as EF would be better described as having morphoea profunda (MP). Methotrexate may be a useful treatment for MP, hence it is important to distinguish this from EF, as management may differ.