[Adult discoid lupus erythematosus].

Background: Discoid lupus erythematosus is a particular form of systemic lupus in which manifestations are confined to the skin.

Aim: Our purpose was to evaluate the epidemiology trends, presenting clinical manifestations, therapeutic features and outcome of patients with discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE).

Methods: It's a retrospective study, done in the dermatology department of Habib Thameur Hospital over an 8 years period. We included only the cases of DLE confirmed by the histology and/or the direct immunofluorescence.

Results: We identified 26 patients mean aged 46.19 years. All of them were adults. The lesions were localized on the face for 25 patients, neck (7 patients), scalp (6) and hands (6). Eleven patients presented a generalized DLE. The mean period of follow-up was 3 years raging from 1 month to 20 years. After a 15 year evolution, 1 patient presented degeneration in squamous cell carcinoma of 2 lesions.

Conclusion: Unfortunately, there is still in our country a long delay before the first consultation, which, added to an absence of adequate photoprotection, can obscure the prognosis of DLE.