Reactive Perforating Collagenosis Associated with Diabetes Mellitus

Reactive perforating collagenosis (RPC) is a skin disorder characterized by extrusion of collagen fibers through the epidermis. This rare form of cutaneous perforating disease, first described by Mehregan et al. in 1967,¹ usually begins in infancy or childhood and appears clinically as recurrent umbilicated papules that resolve spontaneously in six to eight weeks.² In some cases the disease is thought to be hereditary.³,⁴ Fewer than 40 cases of RPC have been reported in all the medical literature, and only one or possibly two cases have been associated with chronic renal disease.⁵ No relation has been established between RPC and diabetes.