Description Chilblain lupus erythematosus(CHLE) or Perniosis is a rare and chronic form of lupus involving the toes, fingers, nose, and ears precipitated by cold exposure. The prevalence is 3–20%, affecting mostly women and can be divided into primary and secondary. The primary or idiopathic form is not associated with an underlying disease, while the secondary form is associated with an underlying condition such as connective tissue disease, monoclonal gammopathy, cryoglobulinemia, or chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia. It is often associated with other forms of cutaneous lupus, and about 20% of patients develop systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). The patient usually comes with symptoms of purple plaques or nodules and oedematous skin, mainly around the acral regions of the body. Histologic features are identical to those of discoid lupus erythematosus. The damaged skin gives a Positive fluorescent band test picture. CHLE is defined by the Mayo Clinic criteria, which include two major and four minor. Diagnosing a patient requires two major and at least one minor criterion. Patients with chilblain lupus erythematosus may also display hypergammaglobulinaemia, positive rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibody, antiphospholipid or anti-Ro antibodies. They are usually negative for anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies. The first-line treatment for mild and localised symptoms is topical corticosteroids. Second-line systemic treatments consist mainly of immunomodulators and immunosuppressants. Studies have shown benefits from the use of topical tacrolimus and pimecrolimus. We want to report a case of a young lady that presented to our centre with CHLE.

Conclusions Chilblain lupus erythematosus is a rare and chronic disease mainly affecting women. Although it is not as severe as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus(SLE), it may be the sentinel sign of a range of underlying auto-immune diseases. Physicians should be vigilant in dealing with CHLE as their symptoms may be subtle and mimic other similar pathologies.