Medical Must-See: IV antibiotic kicks off purpuric rash

The rare case highlights the need to consider secondary causes of leukocytoclastic vasculitis, including medications, say US doctors.

Routine treatment of a non-healing foot ulcer took an unexpected turn for a US patient who developed purpuric lesions in response to a common antibiotic. 

The 59-year-old man presented to St John Hospital in Detroit with pain and purulent ulcers on the plantar surface of his right foot, with initial vital signs also significant for sinus tachycardia. 

His medical history included hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and type 2 diabetes with peripheral neuropathy, the case doctors reported in Cureus

Upon physical examination, the foot was swollen, erythematous and “warm to the touch”, with purulent drainage from a 2cm-wide ulcer.