DLE plaques are more erythematous, have adherent scale, follicular plugging, and lead to more significant atrophy, unlike the brownish, "apple-jelly" nodules of lupus vulgaris.
Lupus pernio, a form of sarcoidosis, can mimic rosacea, but lupus vulgaris (TB) is a destructive, ulcerative, or nodular plaque.
Both can have reddish-brown plaques with "apple-jelly" nodules on diascopy, but lupus vulgaris is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is confirmed by finding the organism on culture or PCR.
This is a superficial fungal infection with a scaly, annular border, a completely different pathology than the deep, granulomatous, and destructive plaque of lupus vulgaris.
