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Septal granulomatous panniculitis: comparison of the pathology of erythema nodosum migrans (migratory panniculitis) and chronic erythema nodosum.

Fifty-eight cases of septal granulomatous panniculitis were reviewed; 14 cases were diagnosed as erythema nodosum migrans (migratory panniculitis) and 36 as chronic erythema nodosum on the basis of clinical and histopathologic features. Erythema nodosum migrans was characterized by markedly thickened and fibrotic septae, marked capillary proliferation (like granulation tissue), and massive granulomatous reaction (with giant cells) along the borders of the widened septa. Hemorrhage was rare, and phlebitis was not seen. Chronic erythema nodosum showed mild septal change, little fibrosis, and lymphohistiocytic perivascular inflammation with only focal granulomatous formation. Phlebitis and hemorrhage were common. The condition termed erythema nodosum migrans has many of the same clinical features as chronic erythema nodosum, and we think this term is preferable to migratory panniculitis. We believe that there are sufficient clinical and histopathologic features to justify considering erythema nodosum migrans as a unique clinicopathologic entity.

Adult

Nodules on the legs. A clinical, histological and immunohistological study of 82 patients representing different types of nodular panniculitis.

Eighty-two cases of nodular panniculitis of the legs were examined clinically, histologically and immunohistologically. Clinically the cases could be divided into four groups: typical erythema nodosum (ENty) (35 cases), erythema nodosum migrans (ENmi) (11 cases), erythema induratum (EI) (11 cases) and the remaining 25 cases not consistent with the others as "non-definite panniculitis" (NDP). The main histological categories were septal panniculitis and lobular panniculitis, the former including erythema nodosum, both typical and migrans, the latter EI and NDP. Lobular panniculitis was divided into three subgroups in which the most prominent histological features were epithelioid cell granuloma, vasculitis and palissading granuloma, respectively. Immunoglobulins in the vessel walls were found in 5 of the 46 cases of erythema nodosum, in 19 of the 36 EI and NDP cases and, in the histological groups in 4 of the 43 cases of septal panniculitis and in 19 of the 35 cases of lobular panniculitis, respectively. Fibrin was found in the walls of the papillary capillaries and deep dermal vessels in the majority of cases of lobular panniculitis. In EI and NDP the follow-up time was 40 months, on average. Twenty-two patients were treated with antituberculous drugs, 15 became symptomless, as did 5 of the 12 patients who were not treated at all.

Adult

Eosinophils in lupus panniculitis and morphea profunda.

The extent of eosinophils in skin biopsy and peripheral blood specimens of patients with lupus panniculitis and morphea profunda was determined by studying 37 biopsies from 33 patients with lupus panniculitis and 55 biopsies from 53 patients with morphea profunda. Specimens from 8 (24%) of 33 patients with lupus panniculitis showed eosinophils, and 13 (25%) of 53 patients with morphea profunda had eosinophils in the subcutaneous tissue. In all cases, the diagnosis of lupus panniculitis or morphea profunda was established on the basis of other, more characteristic histologic features; the presence of eosinophils was incidental and not a diagnostic criterion. Occasional cases of lupus panniculitis or morphea profunda had numerous eosinophils. However, in most of the specimens, eosinophils were absent or observed in small numbers. Only 3% of patients with lupus panniculitis showed an increase in the number of eosinophils in the peripheral blood, whereas 47% of patients with morphea profunda had peripheral eosinophilia. The degree of hyaline necrosis in lupus panniculitis or of sclerosis in morphea profunda did not correlate with the number of eosinophils present in the biopsy specimen or peripheral blood.

Eosinophils

[Panniculitis in children].

Panniculitis is an inflammation of subcutaneous fat responsible for fairly uniform clinical features including nodules, plaques or swelling located in the subcutaneous tissue, occasionally progressing to atrophy of subcutaneous fat. Some forms of panniculitis specific of childhood are responsible for readily recognizable clinical patterns. Examples include acute neonatal fat necrosis, sclerema neonatorum, cryopanniculitis, steroid-induced panniculitis, and toxoplasmosis-related multinodular fat necrosis of Royer syndrome. With the exception of erythema nodosum, the cause of panniculitis is identified upon histologic examination of a deep skin biopsy which ensures the differentiation of infectious nodules, vasculitis nodules, and apparently primary forms of nodular panniculitis fitting the description of Weber-Christian syndrome, Rothmann-Makaï syndrome, histiocytic cytophagic panniculitis or lupus panniculitis.

Biopsy

Lupus erythematosus panniculitis.

LE panniculitis is an uncommon but distinctive subset of LE. It may develop in patients with discoid LE or SLE or may occur as an isolated phenomenon. The typical clinical presentation is that of multiple indurated nodules or plaques (or both), often associated with lipoatrophy, there being a predilection for the proximal extremities and trunk. Because the clinical and histologic findings of LE panniculitis overlap with those of other connective tissue diseases, evaluation of patients suspected of having LE panniculitis should include a complete history and physical examination as well as serologic studies, determination of peripheral blood counts, and tests of renal function. A deep excisional biopsy rather than punch biopsy should be performed for diagnosis. The characteristic histologic pattern includes hyaline necrosis of fat; lymphoid nodules, often with germinal centers; and lymphocytic lobular panniculitis. Direct immunofluorescence testing of skin may help confirm the diagnosis in patients who have less than classic histologic features. LE panniculitis tends to have a chronic course marked by recurrent nodules or plaques (or both). Antimalarial agents, with or without courses of systemic steroids, are beneficial in most patients.

Diagnosis, Differential

Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency associated with panniculitis.

Alpha 1-Antitrypsin is the principal serum protease inhibitor. In addition to the well-recognized association with early-onset emphysema and cirrhosis, alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency may be associated with panniculitis. In this article we describe three patients in whom the recognition of certain clinical and histologic features of panniculitis eventually led to the diagnosis of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. Two of our patients were young adults and one was a child. All three had draining, panniculitis, or cellulitis-like lesions at sites of prior trauma. The histopathologic findings were characterized by liquefactive dermal necrosis and collagenolysis of the fibrous septa of the subcutis. The combination of these clinical and microscopic findings should suggest the diagnosis of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency panniculitis. The suspicion can be verified by obtaining quantitative serum levels and enzyme phenotyping. The identification of the alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency state as the cause of a distinct type of panniculitis adds additional evidence for the elimination of the term Weber-Christian disease.

Adult

[Recurrent eyelid tumor in necrotizing panniculitis].

To our knowledge, necrotizing lid tumors occurring in the context of a necrotizing lobular panniculitis have not yet been described in the literature. Our patient, a 75-year-old male, presented with indolent, nonmoveable subcutaneous lumps that were centrally ulcerating. They appeared first on his upper lid, then on his lower lid and thereafter on the neck, back, upper extremity and abdomen, especially in the area of his cholecystectomy scar. A thorough work-up, which included repeated histopathological examinations performed by several laboratories, led to the diagnosis of an idiopathic necrotizing lobular panniculitis. A serum level determination performed later revealed no alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. As the eye-lid's subcutaneous tissue lacks fat, the association between the necrotizing lid tumors and the necrotizing panniculitis appears to be a paradox. In spite of the normal alpha 1-antitrypsin serum levels--determined when the patient's lesions had long ago healed--we think in retrospect that the differential diagnosis should have included the possibility of a decreased alpha 1-antitrypsin serum level (e.g. heterozygous MZ-phenotype). An alpha 1-antitrypsin level deficiency--with resulting decreased inhibition of collagenase and elastase--could account for the necrotizing process that also occurred in the eyelid's subcutaneous tissue. In the Van Gieson stain of this patient's eyelid biopsy, fragmentation of all visible collagen and elastic fibers was noted. In our opinion, the differential diagnosis does include lid involvement with secondary panniculitis caused by partially decreased alpha 1-antitrypsin serum levels and--by exclusion--idiopathic necrotizing lobular panniculitis. Therapeutic possibilities are briefly discussed.

Aged

Infection-induced panniculitis.

We evaluated the histopathologic findings in 15 cases of panniculitis due to infection. Organisms were identified by special staining in 14 cases, and in 6 of these the etiologic agent was confirmed by culture studies. In one additional case, lesional culture was positive despite negative special staining. Eight cases were caused by gram positive or gram negative bacteria, 2 by atypical mycobacteria, 2 by Nocardia, and 3 by fungi (Candida and Fusarium species). Most patients had conditions or were receiving therapies predisposing to immunosuppression, but at least 2 individuals had no other major medical problems. There were some variability in microscopic findings and overlap with established forms of panniculitis; 3 cases (2 due to bacteria and 1 to Fusarium) resembled acute, "neutrophilic" erythema nodosum, and evidence of vasculitis was seen in septicemias due to Pseudomonas, Nocardia, and Fusarium. Nevertheless, several distinctive features associated with infectious panniculitis of diverse etiologies included: epidermal alterations such as acanthosis and parakeratosis; dermal edema with a diffuse or perivascular neutrophilic infiltrate; and mixed septal-lobular panniculitis with neutrophilic infiltration, vascular proliferation and hemorrhage, and necrosis. Infection should be suspected in virtually any case of panniculitis, particularly when occurring in an immunosuppressed patients, but the microscopic features enumerated above should arouse particular suspicion of an infectious process.

Adult

Panniculitis: a report of four cases and literature review.

Panniculitis is a disease with many causes and associations. The classification of clinical subtypes is unsatisfactory and hampered by the use of eponyms. Four children with recurring panniculitis are described and their histology presented. Three had subcutaneous fat atrophy with lobular panniculitis on biopsy; all responded well to corticosteroids. The fourth child had a septal panniculitis with no atrophy of subcutaneous tissues and only a partial response to treatment with corticosteroids. A widely accepted precise histological classification of panniculitis is needed to enable accurate predictions of the outcome of this serious disorder.

Adipose Tissue

Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency panniculitis: a histopathologic and immunopathologic study of four cases.

Four cases of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency associated with panniculitis were reviewed. The following histopathologic characteristics were typically present: (a) large areas of normal panniculus adjacent to severe necrotic panniculitis; (b) acute panniculitis--masses of neutrophils causing necrosis and replacing fat lobules; (c) chronic inflammation and hemorrhage at the periphery of acute panniculitis; (d) focal collection and proliferation of histiocytic cells and lipophages; (e) secondary leukocytoclastic vasculitis in areas of necrosis and lymphocytic vasculitis in areas of severe inflammation, but no evidence of primary vasculitis; (f) phlebothrombosis; and (g) in partial (heterozygous) deficiency, pronounced lipophages and giant-cell replacement of fat cells. Endarteritis obliterans was noted. Direct immunofluorescence study showed C3 deposition in the blood vessels of the panniculus or dermis (or both) in all four cases, and IgM was present in the blood vessels of three. Weak granular deposits of IgM or C3 were seen at the epidermal basement membrane zone in two cases. C3 in endothelial cells of the blood vessels was detected in one case. In general, the immunoreactants in the blood vessels were not dense and probably represent secondary vasculitis. We conclude that all patients with severe panniculitis and ulceration should have alpha 1-antitrypsin levels determined. A deep excisional biopsy specimen with abundant panniculus tissue is required for histopathologic diagnosis.

Adipose Tissue

Weber-Christian panniculitis with systemic cytophagic histiocytosis.

A 49-year-old woman suffered from Weber-Christian panniculitis with a typically periodic course. Subsequently, the attacks of the disease developed to a severe state: high fever, endotoxinemia, pancytopenia, and clotting disorder, in addition to the cutaneous manifestations. One and a half years after the outbreak of the disease the patient died in a septic shock. At autopsy all three stages of Weber-Christian panniculitis were found. In addition, an immense proliferation of benign cytophagic histiocytes could be observed in the bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes and, less distinctly, in the fatty and interstitial tissues of the visceral organs. As a nosologic entity, the Weber-Christian disease is frequently questioned. Some authors consider the lobular, histiocytic, cytophagic panniculitis a unique syndrome. On the other hand, it must be emphasized that benign, cytophagic histiocytosis may exist associated with infections or may accompany different diseases. Furthermore, the Weber-Christian panniculitis is clinically and morphologically well defined.

Female

Panniculitis associated with a pancreas divisum.

A case is presented of a 67-year-old man with chronic abdominal pain thought to be due to peptic ulcer disease. He developed nodules of panniculitis (nodular fat necrosis), resulting in extensive investigations for pancreatic disease. He was ultimately found to have low-grade pancreatitis associated with a pancreas divisum. Surgical treatment of this congenital anomaly resulted in complete resolution of the panniculitis and abdominal pain. Panniculitis as a manifestation of pancreatitis is well documented. However, panniculitis leading to the discovery of chronic pancreatitis with a surgically treatable ductal abnormality has not been previously reported. In cases of unexplained nodular fat necrosis, an aggressive search for a pathologic condition of the pancreas is indicated.

Aged

Malignant histiocytosis with panniculitis--a case report.

We report a case of malignant histiocytosis which began with the skin lesions of panniculitis. A 32-year-old woman presented with recurrent erythematous plaques, subcutaneous nodules, and ulcers on the trunk and the extremities and intermittent fever for 7 months. The cutaneous lesions consisted of erythematous and brownish irregular-shaped patches and tender cutaneous nodules 0.5-1.0 cm in diameter. Central necrosis and shallow ulcers were seen in the lesions. The patient also suffered from general fatigue, arthralgia, and weight loss. She was anemic and thrombocytopenic and had progressive impairment of liver function with coagulation defect. Histopathological study of skin lesions showed lobular panniculitis without vasculitis in the subcutaneous fat tissue. In the panniculitis lesion, moderate mixed cell infiltration consisting of lymphocytes and histiocytes was observed. Bone marrow aspiration revealed an increase in the number of histiocytes, mostly immature with active phagocytosis of erythroid cells, myeloid cells, and platelets. She was diagnosed as having malignant histiocytosis and treated with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone which she responded well; her fever subsided and the lesions healed with hyperpigmentation. In this patient, benign histiocytes with hemophagocytosis without immature forms were found in the skin lesions. According to our knowledge, this is the first Thai report of malignant histiocytosis with clinical features of panniculitis.

Adult