Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about

discoid lupus erymatosis.

And if you want to follow along with written notes on this topic,

you can follow along at zero definals.com slash d'L-E or in the rheumatology section of the zero-definals medicine book.

So let's get straight into it.

Dyskoid lupus erythematosis is a non-cancerous chronic skin condition and it's more common in

women and usually presents in young adulthood between the ages of about 20 and 40 years old. It's more common in women and usually presents in young adulthood between the ages of about

20 and 40 years old. It's more common in darker skin patients and in smokers. It's associated with an

increased risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosis or SLE or sometimes known as lupus. However,

this risk is still below 5%.

Rarely the lesions of discoid lupus can progress to squamous cell carcinoma or

SCC of the skin, however it is important to realise this is quite rare. So how do patients

present? Well, the lesions typically occur on the face and the ears and the scalp

and classically they're photosensitive which means that they're made worse by exposure to sunlight.

They're also associated with scarring alopecia and this is hair loss in the affected areas

and this hair loss doesn't grow back because it leaves behind scar tissue.

It causes hyperpigmented or hypopigmented scars.

So this is scars that are slightly darker or lighter than the person's normal skin colour.

The appearance of the lesions are inflamed, dry, erymetus, meaning red,

patchy, and they can be crusty or scaling. So what's the management? Well, skin biopsy is used to

confirm the diagnosis. Usually this would be done by a specialist dermatologist, and treatment

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