BACKGROUND: The histology of lichen nitidus has been described previously but a follicular variant has not been emphasized. METHOD: We report a case of lichen nitidus with periappendageal inflammation resulting in histologic similarities to lichen striatus. RESULTS: This case extends the spectrum of histologic findings in lichen nitidus and shows overlap in the distribution of the inflammatory infiltrate in lichen nitidus and lichen striatus.

Generalized lichen nitidus successfully treated with an antituberculous agent.Br J Dermatol. 2002 Jun;146(6):1081-3.

We describe a Japanese girl with generalized lichen nitidus. She had been exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis at 6 years of age via her teacher. At 8 years of age, she developed severe contact dermatitis on sun-exposed areas after contact with Japanese lacquer trees. Shortly after, numerous tiny, shiny, flesh-coloured papules developed over the upper part of her body. At 10 years of age, she was exposed to a school outbreak of M. tuberculosis. Her eruption showed no response to topical corticosteroids or oral tranilast, but most of the papules completely disappeared after she had received oral isoniazid for 6 months.

Generalized lichen nitidus.Clin Exp Dermatol. 2002 Mar;27(2):115-7.

We report a 38-year-old man who presented with a generalized papular eruption that was clinically and histologically consistent with lichen nitidus. This patient's condition had been persistent for approximately 1 year; however, soon after assuming employment that entailed significant, regular sun exposure, the patient noted marked clearing of his lesions in sun-exposed areas. This case corroborates previous reports that suggest that generalized lichen nitidus can be successfully managed with ultraviolet light therapy.

Crohn's disease and lichen nitidus: a case report and comparison of common histopathologic features.Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2001 Nov;7(4):314-8.

We describe a 54-year-old black woman with Crohn's disease, who developed lichen nitidus, the third report of a patient with both diseases. The rarity of these diseases individually and the histopathologic features in common imply that the two diseases are linked. Multinucleated giant cells, a common finding in the lesions of Crohn's disease, are less common in the lesions of lichen nitidus. The presence of multinucleated giant cells in lichen nitidus in all three case reports is distinctly unusual. The infiltrates of Crohn's disease and lichen nitidus contain CD-68-positive macrophages. As such, the subset of lichen nitidus with giant cells should be recognized as a cutaneous manifestation of Crohn's disease.