Painful red swelling of the hands and feet in a patient receiving<unk>  is usually enough to make the diagnosis. The problem can also arise in patients after bone marrow transplants, as the clinical and histologic features of PPE can be similar to cutaneous manifestations of acute (first three weeks) graft-versus-host disease. It is important to differentiate PPE, which is benign, from the more dangerous graft-versus-host disease. As time progresses, patients with graft-versus-host disease progress to have other body parts affected, while PPE is limited to hands and feet. Serial biopsies every 3 to 5 days can also be helpful in differentiating the two disorders.
Chemotherapy-induced acral erythema
Diabetic dermadrome
Cutaneous lymphoma
Diabetic dermopathy
Chronic actinic dermatitis
Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis
Lupus vulgaris
Parapsoriasis