Differential Diagnosis
Common
- Vascular disorders
- Dermatologic disorders
- Contact dermatitis
- Insect stings or bites, or other envenemation
- Cutaneous drug reaction
- Eosinophilic cellulitis (Wells syndrome)
- Sweet syndrome
- Rheumatic disorders
- Immunologic disorders
- Malignant disorders
- Familial disorders
- Foreign-body reactions
- Reaction to metal implant
- Mesh intolerance
- Foreign-body granulomatous reactions, such as to silicone injections and paraffin oils
Uncommon
- Dermatologic disorders
- Urticaria and angioedema
- Follicular occlusion triad
- Hidradenitis suppurativa
- Acne conglobata
- Dissecting cellulitis of the scap (perifolliculitis capitis abscedens et suffodiens)
- Vascular disorders
- Immunologic disorders
- Panniculitis
- Septal
- Lobular
- Physical panniculitis
- Cold-induced
- Traumatic
- Chemical
- Factitious
- Postirradiation
- Panniculitis associated with systemic disease
- Pancreatic panniculitis
- Lupus panniculitis
- Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
- Weber-Christian disease
- Cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis
- Post-steroid panniculitis
- Nodular vasculitis
- Physical panniculitis
- Malignant disorders
- Other disorders
Further Reading
- Falagas ME and Vergidis PI. Narrative review: diseases that masquerade as infectious cellulitis. Ann Intern Med. 2005 Jan 4;142(1):47-55.