Reading Room
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Reading Room Entries from September 2026
Mysterious stomach rash had unusual source
MedPage Today
September 14, 2026
When a child presented to the emergency department with a brown, lace-like rash on his abdomen, it took a few weeks before physicians pinpointed the likely source. Initially, they thought it might be bruising from some kind of traumatic injury. However, blood tests and abdominal imaging were clear, and he was sent home. Yet the patient returned after 2 weeks with progression of the rash and increasing tenderness. This time, they considered a diagnosis of erythema ab igne (EAI), a reticulated, erythematous rash caused by repeated exposure to low-grade heat, below the level that would cause thermal burns, reported Mara Znagoveanu, MBChB, and Edward Artley, MBChB, both of the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in England, in BMJ Case Reports.
