ABSTRACT
Etiology/Basic Pathology The underlying etiology of PFP is unknown. One case report suggests that pityrosporum yeast may be a causative agent (37). The vast majority of case reports fail to reveal any causative organism by special staining during histopathological examination or by culture (19,30,32,33,35,38). Some have proposed a hormone-related etiology based on the similarity of PFP to steroid acne (19,39), but a recent controlled, prospective study did not show any change in androgen levels in patients with PFP (22).
