A Definitive Look at Gianotti-Crosti Syndrome

The common dermatosis Gianotti-Crosti syndrome (GCS), which affects children aged 2 to 6 years, was first reported in 1953 by an Italian dermatology resident. He described a unique monomorphous papular rash in children that was associated with fever, mild hepatomegaly, and widespread lymphadenopathy. More than a decade later, the connection to hepatitis B (HBV) infection was proven. In the 1970s, GCS epidemics occurred in Japanese children, transmitted via HBV-infected saliva. Many other infectious agents have since been associated with the syndrome. Historically, the term Gianotti-Crosti disease was reserved for HBV-related disease, and Gianotti-Crosti syndrome for non-HBV disease, but today, all forms of the disease, regardless of cause, …