Skin nontumor
Panniculitis
Cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis
Last author update: 1 July 2011
Last staff update: 18 November 2020
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PubMed Search: Cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Terminology | Etiology | Clinical features | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Differential diagnosisCite this page: Hamodat M. Cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/skinnontumorcytophagichistiocyticpanniculitis.html. Accessed March 24th, 2023.
Definition / general
- Rare panniculitis associated with hemophagocytic syndrome (Dermatol Ther 2010;23:389)
Terminology
- Panniculitis associated with hemophagocytic syndrome
Etiology
- Associated with CMV, EBV, HIV, bacteria, fungi and parasites
- Occurs post-bone marrow transplant, with SLE, as adverse reaction to interferon alpha therapy
- Associated with T cell lymphoma
- Presents with spiking fever, erythematous subcutaneous skin nodules, anemia, leukopenia
- May be fatal with multisystemic involvement
Clinical features
- Erythematosus to violaceous or hemorrhagic nodules, often in lower limbs and trunk
- Ulceration with localized or generalized edema
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Lobular or partially septal distribution of florid lobular panniculitis, with large histiocytes containing eosinophilic cytoplasm; also neutrophils and lymphocytes
- Red cell extravasation typically present with frank hemorrhage
- Erythrophagocytosis, phagocytosis of lymphocytes or nuclear debris
- Enlarged histiocytes may be described as "bean bag cell"
- Usually no giant cells / granulomas
Microscopic (histologic) images
Images hosted on other servers:
11 year old girl with perforin gene mutation
Differential diagnosis
- Angiocentric lymphoma
- Cutaneous Rosai Dorfman disease
- Subcutaneous T cell panniculitis lymphoma
