A case of lupus erythematosus tumidus (LET), a subtype of chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus, in an 85-year-old woman who presented with discrete indurated erythematous plaques over the face and upper chest is described. A skin biopsy showed features in keeping with a diagnosis of LET. Unusually however, the lymphocytic infiltrate contained frequent macrophages that demonstrated hemophagocytosis. Most of the phagocytosed cells were lymphocytes, but there was also evidence of erythrophagocytosis. The presence of conspicuous hemophagocytosis has only rarely been reported in skin biopsies of patients with autoimmune conditions. These include systemic lupus, neonatal lupus and dermatomyositis, and on 2 occasions in cases of nonspecified cutaneous lupus erythematosus. To the best of our knowledge, hemophagocytosis as a feature of LET has not been previously described in the literature. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nikki Georgiadou, Sarita Singh, Manuraj Singh. Lupus Erythematosus Tumidus Associated With Hemophagocytosis. The American Journal of dermatopathology. 2022 Jul 01;44(7):519-522
PMID: 35385850
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