dermatologic disorders
Erythroderma
Diagnosis of Erythroderma
Clinical evaluation Diagnosis of erythroderma is by history and examination. Determining the cause may require extensive testing. Blood tests may reveal electrolyte imbalances and an increase in inflammatory markers; however, these findings are not diagnostic of erythroderma. T-cell receptor rearrangement studies to search for monoclonal T-cell expansions in the skin and/or in the peripheral blood and characterization of skin-infiltrating and peripheral T-cell subsets can be done to diagnose T-cell lymphoma when this disorder is under consideration. Biopsy is often nonspecific, and sometimes repeat biopsies are needed. When erythroderma develops in patients without a history of prior skin problems, immediate biopsy may not reveal the cause. 