Lucio's phenomenon: exuberant case report and review of Brazilian cases

Lucio’s phenomenon is an uncommon reaction characterized by severe necrotizing cutaneous lesions that occurs in patients with Lucio’s leprosy and lepromatous leprosy. It is considered by some authors as a variant of type 2 or 3 reaction. Death can occur because of blood dyscrasia or sepsis. Precipitating factors include infections, drugs and pregnancy. We report a 31-year-old female patient exhibiting both clinical and histopathological features of lepromatous leprosy and Lucio’s phenomenon presenting favorable response to treatment. We complement our report with a literature review of the Brazilian cases of Lucio’s phenomenon published in Portuguese and English.