INTERFACE DERMATITIS OR LICHENOID TISSUE REACTION: A REVIEW

Dr. Rajkiran Takharya, *Dr. Jude E. Dileep, Dr. P. Oudeacoumar, Dr. Lisa J. D’souza, Dr. Ilakkia P. Sadasivam and Dr. Tanvi Gupta

ABSTRACT

Interface dermatitis (also called lichenoid tissue reaction) is an inflammatory skin dermatosis in which the junction between the epidermis and papillary epidermis is obscured. The number of uncommon, clinically diverse, and poorly understood inflammatory skin manifestations are linked by the presence of a set of histopathological features that have traditionally been included as Interface dermatitis. All these inflammatory skin diseases are associated with a set of histological features, primarily involving the dermo-epidermal junction. Sustained interface reactions often result in loss of pigment from basal cells and their ingestion by melanophages. The lesions in interface dermatitis may vary from flat to raised, scaly to smooth, which depends upon epidermal reaction. Interface dermatitis is divided into the type of cells that is dominant (lymphocytic or neutrophilic or lymphohistiocytic) or by the severity of the inflammation. Treatment of this various group of cutaneous disorders is guided by the degree of symptomatology, disability, and associated systemic illness. This review tries to encapsulate the current knowledge about interface dermatitis.

Keywords: Interface dermatitis, lichenoid tissue reaction, dermo-epidermal junction, vacuolar alteration.