Differentiation of Jessner's Lymphocytic Infiltration of the Skin from Various Chronic Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Subtypes by Quantitative Computer-Aided Image Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The distinction between chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus and Jessner's lymphocytic infiltration of the skin is still not clear.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the difference between chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus and Jessner's lymphocytic infiltration of the skin in an objective and quantitative manner.

METHODS: Clinical photographs were examined for erythema quantification using two erythema parameters (a* and erythema dose), and histological images were assessed by computer-aided image analysis.

RESULTS: The difference between normal and erythematous skin was more prominent using erythema dose than a*, but no significant differences among the three diseases were observed. The correlation between inflammatory dermal cell infiltration and epidermal thickness, as well as that between erythema parameters and histopathological features, was not significant.

CONCLUSION: This is the first attempt to use computer-aided image analysis for the differentiation of similar skin diseases. However, the differentiation between these diseases using quantitative computer-aided image analysis was still not possible.